DECA Principles Exam

Agent

Intermediary that assists in the sale and/or promotion of goods and services but does not take title to them.

Annual fee

An amount of money charges on a yearly basis for the privilege of using certain kinds of credit (ex. American Express card)

Annual percentage rate (APR)

Tate of interest expressed as a yearly percentage

Approach stage

The beginning of a sale when the customer and salesperson first communicate; also called the "opening" or "attention" step of a sale

Assets

Things of value owned by a business

Assortment

All the varieties of a product of products that a business carries in inventory

Authoritarian leader

Inflict duals who prefer to exercise a high degree of control over their subordinates; tend to see themselves as a sole source of authority

Branding

A basic decision in marketing products in which an organization uses a name, phrase, design, symbol, or a combination of these to identify its products and distinguish them from those of competitors

Business activities

The efforts of an organization that enable it to produce and/or distribute goods or services

Business cycles

Periods of expansion and contraction in economic activities

Business/feasible analysis

Examining such factors as demand, costs, competition, capital investment required and potential profit of a good or service to determine how it will fit into the company's product mix.

Buyers

Individuals who have the responsibility for working with vendors and arranging the terms of the sale

Buyers market

The best time for consumers to buy; characterized by large supply, small demand and low prices

Buying decision

A small decision that a customer makes which leads to the final decision to buy a good or service

Buying motive

The reason or benefit that causes people to make a purchase to satisfy wants and needs

Buying plan

An outline establishing guidelines for merchandise selection in terms of quality, style, and price

Buying process

A series of sequential steps taken by industrial or retail buying personnel to purchase goods or services

Capital

Assets of business (can include money or anything with money value i.e. Equipment)

Capital investment

Funds the business sets aside from its profits to be reinvested in the business

Channels of distribution

Paths that goods and services take from the producer to the ultimate consumer or industrial user

Charter

A permit issues to operate as a corporation; also known as certificate of incorporation

Clientele

A body of customers an organization relies on for considerable repeat business

Close

The point in the selling process at which the customer makes a favorable buying decision

Close-ended question

A question that is structured so that it requires a a short, precise response

Collateral

Anything of value belonging to the borrower that is pledged to the lender to guarantee that the loan will be repaid

Consignment

A purchase arrangement whereby products are sent to a retailer who pays for the products only upon their sale

Consolidation

The joining of two or more companies to form a new company

Consumer

A person who uses a good or service

Consumer buying power

Cash and credit a consumer has available to spend

Consumer goods

Products that are purchased and consumed by their ultimate users

Consumption

The process or activity of using goods or services

Contractual agreement

Arrangement between two or more people stating that one party is to do something in return for something provided by another party

Decentralized purchasing structure

A way of organizing purchasing in which responsibility and authority are distributed among many departments and individuals

Decline stage

The product life cycle stage in which sales and profits fall rapidly

Democratic leaders

Individuals who exercise only a moderate degree of control over employees and tend to involve employees in decision-making and problem solving

Demographic segmentation

The division of a market-based in characteristics people have in common that affect their purchasing power (age, race, gender, income)

Demographics

Describing a population according to selected characteristics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, income, and occupation

Direct marketing

A promotion alternative that uses direct communication with consumers to generate a response in the form of an order, a request for further information, or a visit to a retail outlet

Displays

Visual, non-personal presentations of goods a and services to prospective buyers; categorized as interior or window displays

Disposable income

The amount of income people have left to spend, or dispose off after they have paid their taxes; also called real or discretionary income

Distribution

A marketing function, which is responsible for the physical movement or the transfer of ownership of s good or service from the producer to the consumer

Distribution center

A facility that holds goods in storage and fills orders for those goods

Distribution system

The combination of distribution activities that a company uses to distribute its goods or services

Dividend

A sum of money paid to an investor or stockholder as earnings on an investment

Dollar control

Keeping track of inventory according to the dollar value of the stock

Downward communication

Information from a superior to a subordinate

Efficiency

The ability to uses minimum amounts of resources to the best advantage; accomplishing a task with a minimum expenditure of time and effort

Elastic demand

A form of demand for products in which changes in price correspond to change in demand

Elasticity

An indication of how changes in price will affect changes in the amounts of demand and supply

E-marketplaces

Online trading. Immunities that being together buyers and supplier organizations to make possible the real time exchange of information, money, products, and services

Entrepreneur

an individual who assumes the risk of starting and operating a business

Equilibrium price

the point at which the quantity of a good that buyers want to buy and the quantity that sellers are willing to sell at a certain price are exactly equal

Ethical standards

unwritten rules of good conduct

Feature

physical characteristic or quality which may be used to describe a good or service

Feature-benefit chart

a list that may be arranged alphabetically to show product features and corresponding benefits

Feature-benefit selling

convincing customers that a good or service has the features that will provide the benefits for which they are looking

Federal Communications Commission

a government regulatory agency that grants licenses to radio and television stations and regulates interstate telephone and telegraph rates and service

Fidelity bond

insurance coverage to protect a business from losses due to employee theft

Finance charge

interest charged on the outstanding balance of a credit account

Finance capital

money needed cooperate a business

Financing

a marketing function which determines the need for and availability of financial resources to aid in marketing activities

finished-product inventory

the producer's inventory of completed precuts that are ready to be sold

Fiscal control

governmental use of price controls, licensing, wage control, tax rates and other monetary methods to affect business

Fiscal policy

the governmental policy that sets levels of government spending and taxation

Generic products/brand

describes a general group of products sold without a registered trademark or trade name

Geographical segmentation

the division of a market based on where consumers are located

Goods

tangible objects that can be manufactured or produced for resale (toys, cars, clothes)

Grade

the relative purity or quality of a particular good or material

Gross domestic product

total value of goods and services produced within a country (used to measure an economy)

Gross national product

the final total value of all goods and services produced in the economy in a years time (can include goods/services produced by a company abroad)

Gross profit

money left after cost of merchandise expense is subtracted from total income

Growth stage

the product lifecycle stage in which sales rise rapidly

Guarentee

a promise made by the seller to the consumer that the seller will refund the consumer's purchase price if the product does not perform as expected

Indirect channel of distribution

a channel of distribution in which goods and services more from the producer to the intermediaries, then to consumer

Indirect competition

competition that occurs among businesses that offer dissimilar goods or services

Industrial consumer

a business that buys goods and services for resale for use in the business

Industrial distributor

an intermediary who buys industrial goods and services and sells them to industrial users

Industrial goods and services

goods and services that are purchased by producers for resale, to make other goods and services, and/or for use in business operations

Industrialization

the changeover fro producing goods by hand laborite the use of machines and the organization of such production into industries

Inelastic demand

a form of demand in which changes in price do not affect demand (ex. gas prices go up but still in high demand)

Inflation

a rapid rise in prices that may occur when productivity goes down and costs of labor go up

Intermediaries

channel members operating between the producer and the consumer or industrial her to help in the movement of goods and services; also known as middlemen

Introduction stage

the product life cycle star when a product first appears in the marketplace

Inventory

all the stock that a business has on hand

Inventory control

keeping track of he amount of stock on-hand, sold and on-order

Inventory control system

the methods used to track inventory

Inventory shrinkage

losses of inventory fro such causes as shoplifting, employee theft, breakage, misplaced goods or poor record keeping

Invoice

the formal, printed record of a sale that includes all necessary information regarding the buyer, the seller, items purchased, amounts, prices, delivery date and credit or discount terms

Leasing

contracting to use property that belongs to someone else for a specific period of time and a specific amount of rent

Liabilities

debts, usually money, owed

Lien

a legal claim to an item of property, which protects the seller if the buyer does not complete his or her payments

Lifestyle

a person's interests, values, and activities

Limited liability

a condition in which business owners risk only the amount to their investments

Limited partnership

a type of partnership agreement in which a partner hs limited liability

Limited warranty

a warrant that does not contain the provisions of a full warranty; may cover only certain repairs of specific parts

List price

a producer' suggested price for a product, also called manufacturer's list price

Logistics

those activities that focus on getting the right amount of the right precuts to the right pace at the right time sy hr leery possible cost

Loss-leader

a product that is sold below cost or below its customary price to attract attention to it

Manual inventory control system

counting and recording inventory by hand

Marketing

the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives