bus man exam

Agreements

Legal documents that outline the wages and conditions of employees and are applicable to a particular business or group of businesses.

Arbitration

Involves an independent third party hearing arguments from both disputing parties and making a legally binding decision to resolve the conflict.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Involves using computerised systems to simulate human intelligence and mimic human behaviour.

Autocratic management style

Involves a manager making decisions and directing employees without any input from them.

Automated production lines

Involve machinery and equipment that are arranged in a sequence, and the product is developed as it proceeds through each step.

Awards

Legal documents that outline the minimum wages and conditions of work for employees across an entire industry.

Business change

The alteration of behaviours, policies, and practices of a business.

Business objectives

The goals a business intends to achieve.

Career advancement

The upwards progression of an employee’s job position.

Change step

Involves moving a business towards its desired state.

Communication

The skill of effectively transferring information from one party to another.

Communication as a low risk strategy

involves managers openly and honestly transferring information to employees, and listening to their feedback so that employees are fully aware of the reasons for, and impacts of an upcoming change.

Computer aided design

is digital design software that aids the creation, modification, and optimisation of a design and the design process

Computer aided manufacturing techniques (CAM)

involve the use of software that controls and directs production

processes by coordinating machinery and equipment through a computer.

Consultative management style

Involves a manager seeking input from employees on business decisions but making the final decision themselves.

Corporate culture

The shared values and beliefs of a business and its employees.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

The ethical conduct of a business beyond legal obligations, and the consideration of social, economic, and environmental impacts when making business decisions.

Cost cutting

The process of reducing business expenses.

Customers

Individuals or groups who interact with a business by purchasing and utilising its goods and services.

Decision making

is the skill of selecting a suitable course of action from a range of plausible options.

Delegation

The skill of assigning work tasks and authority to other employees who are further down in a business’s hierarchical structure.

Dismissal

Involves the involuntary termination of an employee who fails to meet required work standards or displays unacceptable or unlawful behaviour.

Dispute resolution process

A series of steps that disputing parties follow in order to resolve a disagreement and reach a resolution.

Drive to acquire

The desire to achieve rewards and high status.

Drive to bond

The desire to participate in social interactions and feel a sense of belonging.

Drive to defend

The desire to protect personal security as well as the values of the business.

Drive to learn

The desire to gain knowledge, skills, and experience.

Driving forces

Factors affecting the business environment that promote and support business change.

Effectiveness

The extent to which a business achieves its stated objectives.

Efficiency

How productively a business uses its resources when producing a good or service.

Employee observation

Involves a range of employees from different levels of authority assessing another employee’s performance against a set of criteria.

Employees

Individuals who are hired by a business to complete work tasks and support the achievement of its objectives.

Employer associations

Advisory bodies that assist employers in understanding and upholding their legal business obligations.

Empowerment as a low risk strategy

involves managers providing employees with increased responsibility and authority during times of change.

Entitlement considerations

Legal obligations an employer owes to its employees following the termination of their employment contract.

Esteem needs

An individual’s desires to feel important, valuable, and respected.

Fair Work Commission (FWC)

Australia’s independent workplace relations tribunal that has a range of responsibilities outlined by the Fair Work Act.

Force Field Analysis

A theoretical model that determines if businesses should proceed with a proposed change.

Forecasting

A materials planning tool that predicts customer demand for an upcoming period using past data and market trends.

Four Drive Theory

A motivational theory that suggests that people strive to balance four fundamental desires.

General community

The individuals and groups who are impacted by a business’s operations and decisions, often because they are located in close proximity to the business.

Global outsourcing

Involves transferring specific business activities to an external business in an overseas country.

Global sourcing of inputs

Involves a business acquiring raw materials and resources from overseas suppliers.

Goal Setting Theory

A motivation theory that states that employees are motivated by clearly defined goals that fulfil five key principles.

Government business enterprise (GBE)

A business that is owned and operated by the government.

High risk strategies

are autocratic management approaches used to influence employees to quickly accept and follow a business change

Human resource management

The organisation of employees’ roles, pay, and working conditions.

Human resource managers

Individuals who coordinate the relationship between employees and management within a business.

Incentives as a low risk strategy

involves managers providing financial or non-financial rewards to encourage

employees to support change

Innovation

The process of altering and improving or creating new products or procedures.

Inputs

The resources used by a business to produce goods and services.

Interpersonal

The skill of creating positive interactions with other employees, to foster beneficial professional relationships.

Investment in training

Allocating resources to improve employee skills and knowledge.

Just in Time (JIT)

An inventory control approach that delivers the correct type and quantity of materials as soon as they are needed for production.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Criteria that measure a business’s efficiency and effectiveness in achieving its different objectives.

Laissez faire management style

involves a manager communicating business objectives to employees and

giving them freedom to make decisions independently

Leadership

The skill of motivating others in order to achieve a business’s objectives.

Leadership in change management

The ability to positively influence and motivate employees towards achieving business objectives during a transformation.

Lean management

The process of systematically reducing waste in all areas of a business’s operations system whilst simultaneously improving customer value.

Learning organisation

An organisation that facilitates the growth of its members and continuously transforms itself to adapt to changing environments.

Level of staff turnover

The percentage of employees that leave a business over a specific period of time and must be replaced.

Level of wastage

The amount of inputs and outputs that are discarded during the production process.

Lewin’s Three step change model

is a process that can be used by a business to implement change successfully

Low risk strategies

are measured management approaches that gradually encourage employees to accept and participate in a business change. 

Management by objectives

Involves both managers and employees collaboratively setting individual employee goals that contribute to the achievement of broader business objectives.

Managers

Individuals who oversee and coordinate a business’s employees and lead its operations to ultimately achieve the business’s objectives.

Manipulation as a high risk strategy

involves influencing employees to support a proposed change by providing

incomplete and deceptive information about the transformation.

Manufacturing businesses

Use resources and raw materials to produce a finished physical good.

Market share

A business’s percentage of total sales within an industry.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A motivational theory that suggests people have five fundamental needs, and their sequential attainment of each need acts as a source of motivation.

Master production schedule (MPS)

A plan that outlines what a business intends to produce, in specific quantities, within a set period of time.

Materials requirement planning (MRP)

A process that itemises the types and quantities of materials required to meet production targets set out in the master production schedule.

Mediation

Involves an impartial third party facilitating discussions between disputing parties to help each side of the conflict reach a resolution themselves.

Mental models

Existing assumptions and generalisations that must be challenged so that learning and transformation can occur in an organisation.

Motivation

The willingness of an individual to expend energy and effort in completing a task.

Net profit figures

Calculated by subtracting total expenses incurred from total business revenue earned, over a specific period of time.

Number of customer complaints

The number of customers who notified the business of their dissatisfaction over a specific period of time.

Number of sales

The total quantity of goods and services sold by a business over a specific period of time.

Number of website hits

The amount of visits that a business’s online platform receives for a specific period of time.

Number of workplace accidents

Measures the amount of injuries and unsafe incidents that occur at a work location over a specific period of time.

Off the job training

involves employees improving their knowledge and skills in a location external to the business.

Official corporate culture

Involves the shared views and values that a business aims to achieve, often outlined in a written format.

On the job training

involves employees improving their knowledge and skills within the workplace

One piece flow

a lean management strategy that involves processing a product individually through a stage of production and passing it onto the next stage of production before processing the next product, continuing this process throughout all stages of production.

Online services

Services that are provided via the internet.

Operations management

Involves coordinating and organising the activities involved in producing the goods or services that a business sells to customers.

Outputs

The final goods or services produced as a result of a business’s operations system, that are delivered or provided to customers.

Overseas manufacture

Involves a business producing goods or services outside of the country where its headquarters are located.

Owners

Individuals who establish, invest, and have a share in a business, often with the goal of earning a profit from its operations. In public listed and private limited companies, owners are known as shareholders.

Participative management style

Involves a manager sharing information with employees so that employees can participate in decision

Partnership

A business structure that is owned by two to 20 owners.

Percentage of market share

Measures the proportion of a business’s total sales, compared to the total sales in the industry, expressed as a percentage figure.

Performance appraisals

Involve a manager assessing the performance of an employee against a range of criteria, providing feedback, and establishing plans for future improvements.

Performance related pay

is a financial reward that employees receive for reaching or exceeding a set business goal.

Personal mastery

The discipline of personal growth and learning, aligned with one’s values and purpose.

Persuasive management style

Involves a manager making decisions and communicating the reasons for those decisions to employees without their input.

Physiological needs

The basic requirements for human survival, such as food, water, and shelter.

Planning

The process of determining a business’s objectives and establishing strategies to achieve these aims.

Porter’s differentiation strategy

Involves offering unique services or product features that are of perceived value to customers, which can then be sold at a higher price than competitors.

Porter’s lower cost strategy

Involves a business offering customers similar or lower