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Consumer Goods

The physical and tangible goods sold to the general public- include durable and non-durable goods

Consumer Services

The non-tangible products sold to the general public

Capital Goods

The physical goods used by industry to aid in the production of other goods and services

Added value

the difference between the cost of purchasing raw materials and the price the finished goods are sold for

Entrepreneur

Someone who takes the financial risk of starting and managing a new venture

Social enterprise

A business with mainly social objectives that reinvests most of its profits into benefiting society rather than maximizing returns to owners...

Triple bottom line

The three objectives of social enterprises:economic,social, and environmental

Opportunity cost

The benefit of the next most desired option which is given up

Primary Sector Business Activity

Firms engaged in industries that extract natural resources so that they can be used and processed by other firms

Secondary sector business activity

Firms that manufacture and process products from natural resources

Tertiary sector business activity

Firms that provide services to consumers and other businesses

Private Sector

Comprises businesses owned and controlled by individuals or groups of individuals

Public sector

Comprises organizations accountable to and controlled by central or local government

Mixed economy

Economic resources are owned and controlled by both private and public sectors

Free Market economy

Economic resources owned largely by the private sector with very little state intervention

Command economy

Economic resources owned, planned and controlled by the state

Sole trader

A business in which one person provides the permanent finance and, in return, has full control of the business and is able to keep all the profits

Partnership

A business formed by two or more people to carry on a business together, with shared capital investment and, usually, shared responsibilities

Private limited company

A small to medium-sized business that is owned by shareholders who are often members of the same family. This company cannot sell shares to the general public

Shareholder

A person or institution owning shares in a limited company

Share

A certificate confirming part ownership of a company and entitling the shareholder owner to dividends and certain shareholder rights

Public limited economy

A limited company, often a large business, with the legal right to sell shares to the general public- share prices are quoted on the national stock exchange

Franchise

A business that uses the name, logo, and trading systems of an existing successful business

Joint venture

Two or more businesses agree to work closely together on a particular project and create a separate business division to do so

Holding company

a business organization that owns and controls a number of separate businesses, but does not unite the into one unified company

Public corporation

a business enterprise owned and controlled by the state - also known as nationalized industry

Sales Turnover

Total value of sales made by a business in a given time period

Capital employed

The total value of all long-term finance invested in the business

Market capitalization

The total value of a company's issued shares

Market share

Sales of the business as a proportion of total market sales

Internal growth

Expansion of a business by means of opening new branches, shops, or factories (AKA organic growth)

SMART

criteria for effective business objectives

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic/relevant

Time

Mission statement

A statement of the business' core objectives aims, phrased in a way to motivate employees and stimulate interest by outside groups

Corporate social responsibility

This concept applies to those businesses that consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their decisions and activities on customers, employees, communities, and the environment

Management by objectives (MBO)

A method of coordinating and motivating all staff in an organization by dividing its overall aim into specific targets for each department, manager, and employee

Ethics

The moral guidelines that determine decision making

Ethical code of conduct

A document detailing a company's rules and guidelines on staff behavior that must be followed by all employees

Stakeholders

People or groups of people who can be affected by, and therefor have an interest in any action by an organisation

Stakeholder concept

The view that businesses and their managers have responsibilities to a wide range of groups, not just shareholders

Manager

Responsible for setting objectives, organizing resources, and motivating staff so that the organization's aims are met

Figurehead

Symbolic leader of the organization undertaking duties of a social or legal nature

Leader

Motivating subordinates; selecting and training other managers/staff

Liaison

Linking with other managers and leaders of other divisions of the business and other organizations

Leadership

The art of motivating a group of people towards achieving a common objective

Autocratic leaders

Take decisions on their own with no discussion

Democratic leaders

Will engage in discussion with workers before taking decisions

Laissez-faire leaders

Allow workers to carry out tasks and take decisions themselves with very broad limits

Informal leader

A person who has no formal authority but has the respect of colleagues and some power over them

Emotional intelligence

The ability of managers to understand their own emotions, and those of the people they work with, to achieve better business performance

Motivation

The internal and external factors that stimulate people to take actions that lead to achieving a goal

Self actualization

A sense of self-fulfillment reached by feeling enriched and developed by what one has learned and achieved

Job enrichment

Aims to use the full capabilities of workers by giving them the opportunity to do more challenging and fulfilling work

Hygiene factors

Aspects of a worker's job that have the potential to cause dissatisfaction

Motivating factors

Aspects of a worker's job that can lead to positive job satisfaction

Hourly wage rate

Payment to a worker made for each hour worked

Piece rate

A payment to a worker for each unit produced

Salary

Annual income that is usually paid on a monthly basis

Commission

A payment to a sales person for each sale made

Performance related pay

A bonus scheme to reward staff for above-average work performance

Profit sharing

A bonus for staff based on the profits of the business - usually paid as a proportion of basic salary

Job rotation

Increasing the flexibility of the workforce and the variety of work they do by switching from one job to another

Job enlargement

Attempting to increase the scope of a job by broadening or deepening the tasks undertaken

Job redesign

Involves the restructuring of a job - usually with employees' involvement and agreement - to make work more interesting, satisfying, and challenging

Quality circles

Voluntary groups of workers who meet regularly to discuss work-related problems and issues

Worker participation

Workers are actively encouraged to become involved in decision making within the organization

Team working

Production is organized so that groups of workers undertake complete units of work

Human resource management (HRM)

The strategic approach to the effective management of an organization's workers so that they help the business gain a competitive advantage

Workforce planning

Analyzing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skills of those workers that will be required by the organization to reach its objectives

Workforce audit

A check on the skills and qualifications of all existing workers/managers

Recruitment

The process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be filled and the type of person needed to fill it, attracting suitable candidates for the job and selecting the best one

Job description

A detailed list of the key points about the job to be filled - stating all of its key tasks and responsibilities

Person specification

A detailed list of the qualities, skills and qualifications that a successful applicant will need to have

Training

Work-related education to increase workforce skills and efficiency

On-the-job training

Instruction at the place of work on how a job should be carried out

Off-the-job training

All training undertaken away from the business

Induction training

Introductory training program to familiarize new recruits with the systems used in the business and the layout of the business site

Staff appraisal

The process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee judged against pre-set objectives

Employment contract

A legal document that sets out the terms and conditions governing a worker's job

Dismissal

Being dismissed or sacked from a job due to incompetence or breach of discipline

Unfair dismissal

Ending a worker's employment contract for a reason that the law regards as being unfair

Redundancy

When a job is no longer required, so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his/her own

Temporary employment contract

Employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period

Part-time employment contract

Employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week of, say, 40 hours

Flexi-time contract

Employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees

Outsourcing

Not employing staff directly, but using an outside agency or organization to carry out some business functions

Teleworking

Staff working from home but keeping contact with the office by means of modern IT communications

Hard HRM

An approach to managing staff that focuses on cutting costs

Soft HRM

An approach to managing staff that focuses on developing staff, so that they reach self-fulfillment and are motivated to work hard and stay with the business

Marketing

The management task that links the business to the customer by identifying and meeting the needs of customers profitably - it does this by getting the right product at the right price to the right place at the right time

Consumer markets

Markets for goods and services bought by the final user of them

Industrial markets

Markets for goods and services bought by businesses to be used in the production process of other products

Marketing objectives

The goals set for the marketing department to help the business achieve its overall objectives

Marketing strategies

Long-term plan established for achieving marketing objectives

Market orientation

An outward-looking approach basing product decisions on consumer demand, as established by market research

Product orientation

An inward-looking approach that focuses on making products that can be made - or have been made for a long time - and then trying to sell them

Asset-led marketing

An approach to marketing that bases strategy on the firm's existing strengths and assets instead of purely on what the consumer wants

Societal marketing

This approach considers not only the demands of consumers but also the effects on all members of the public (society) involved in some way when firms meet these demands

Demand

The quantity of a product that consumers are willing able to buy at a given price in a time period

Supply

The quantity of a product that firms are prepared to supply at a given price in a time period

Equilibrium price

The market price that equates supply and demand for a product