tacn

quality

to produce a good/service which meets customer expectations

quality control

the checking for quality at the end of the production process, whether it is the production of a product/service

quality assurance

the checking for quality standards throughout the production process, whether it is the production of a product/service

Total Quality Management (TQM)

the continuous improvement of products and processes by focusing on quality at each stage of production

leading indicators

metrics predicting future performance and outcomes, allowing organizations to take proactive actions

lagging indicators

metrics reflecting past performance and outcomes, used for evaluating success and informing long-term strategy

benchmarking

going outside the firm to see what excellent competitors are doing, and adopting the best practices

defect

a fault or imperfection or deficiency

durability

performance over a long period of time

goodwill

customers’ satisfaction with an loyalty to a company

reliability

regular performance over a long period of time

to scarp

to sell defective goods for the price of the recyclable materials they contain

serviceability

ease of maintenance and repair

warranty

a promise that goods will meet a certain specified quality level, or be repaired or replaced

tolerance

the amount by which a parameter can vary from the norm before the piece become a defect

ISO 9001

a set of international standards of quality

nonconformance

when a requirement has not been met; doesn’t need to be a serious defect

Six Sigma

a well-known quality methodology; takes a highly disciplined approach to eliminating defects in manufacturing

key performance indicators (KPI)

statistical measures of how well an organization is doing in particular areas

economic sector

categories that classify and group economic activities based on the types of goods and services produced; an area of the economy made up of businesses with similar characteristics

the primary sector

extracts and uses the natural resources of Earth to produce raw materials used by other businesses

the secondary sector

manufactures goods using the raw materials provided by the primary sector

tertiary sector

provides services to consumers and the other sectors of the industry

quaternary sector

a more specialized and knowledge-intensive part of the service sector; inlcudes knowledge-based services that involve creation, dissemination, and application of information

free market economy

All resources are privately owned. Prices are determined by supply and demand

planned economy

All resources are owned by the government, which also takes all major economic decisions

a mixed economy

an economy having both private and public sector

public sector

the sector of the economy in which organizations are owned and controlled by the state (government)

private sector

the sector of the economy in which organizations are owned and controlled by individuals

privatisation

the sale of state-owned assets such as public corporations to the private sector

sole trader

a business owned and operated by one person

limited liability

the liability of shareholders in a company is limited to only the amount they invested

unlimited liability

The owners of a business can be held responsible for the debts of the business they own. Their liability is not limited to the investment they made in the business

partnership

a form of business in which two or more people agree to jointly own a business

shareholders

the owners of a limited company; buy shares which represents part-ownership of the company

private limited company (Ltd.)

businesses owned by shareholders but they cannot sell shares to the public

public limited company (PLC)

business owned by shareholders but they can sell shares to the public and their shares are tradeable on the Stock Exchange

franchise

It is not strictly a form of legal structure for a business, but it is a legal contract between franchisors and franchisees. It allows franchisees to use the name, logo and marketing methods of the franchisors, then franchisees can separately decide which form of legal structure to adopt

joint venture

two or more businesses agree to start a new project together, sharing the capital, the risk and the profit

exported goods

products sold to other countries

imported goods

products sold by other countries to local people

real estate

buildings such as offices, houses, flats/apartments,…

service

work done in return for money

delocalize

to move your factories to another region or country

outsource

to use other companies to do work your company previously did itself

motivation

factors that influence the of workers towards achieving business goals; can be increased by a) monetary rewards b) non-monetary rewards c) introducing ways to give job satisfaction

job satisfaction

the enjoyment a worker gets from feeling that they have done a good job, can be motivated with 3 ways: job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment

job rotation

swapping workers round and only doing a specific task for a limited amount of time before swapping round again

job enlargement

extra tasks are added to the job to make it more interesting

job enrichment

adding tasks that require more skill and/or responsibility

Theory X

The average person does not like work. Workers must be constantly supervised so they will work. Motivation is from external factors, e.g pay scheme where the workers are paid for increased output

Theory Y

The average person is motivated by internal factors. To motivate workers, you need to find ways to help workers take an interest in their work, e.g give rewards, incentives

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A theory of motivation which states that five categories human needs dictate an individual behavior. Those are physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem need and self-actualization needs

Frederick Herzberg’s motivation theory

Humans have two sets of needs: one is for the basic needs, which he called hygiene factors/needs; the other is for a human being to be able to grow psychologically, which he called motivational needs/motivators

hygiene factors

the factors that must be present in the workplace to prevent job dissatisfaction

enrichment

making something better and more enjoyable

outcome

result

autonomy

power to make independent decisions

meaningfulness

quality of being serious, useful and important

enlargement

making something bigger

assignment

piece of work that you must do as part of your job or course of study

remuneration

payment

labor relations

interactions between employers and employees, or managers and workers

job security

knowing that there is little risk of losing employment

wages

money paid (per hour/day/week) to manual workers

benefits

advantages that come with a job, apart from pay

motivators

things that encourage people to do something

promotion

to be raised to a higher rank or better job

unskilled

without any particular abilities acquired by training

rotation

regularly switching between different tasks

corporate culture

a company’s shared attitudes, beliefs, practices and work relationships

skill variety

the extent to which a job demands different skills

task identity

the degree to which a job has a visible outcome

task significance

the degree to which a job has an impact on the work of others

feedback

the amount of direct and dear information that is received about performance

management

the process used to accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading and controlling people and other organizational resources

manager

an individual who is in charge of a certain group off tasks, or a certain area of a business

Chief Executive Officer

the most senior manager responsible for the overall performance and success of a company

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 design the structure of the organizationand 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, coaching and motivating others to work effectively to achieve the organization’s goals and objective

controlling

a management function that involves establishing clear standards to determine whether or not a organization is progressing towards its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a good job and taking corrective actions if they are not

consultant

a person who provides expert advise to a company

crisis

a situation of danger and difficulty

innovation

a new idea or method

objective (n)

something you plan to do or achieve

promotion

when someone is raised to a higher or more important position

public sector

the section of the economy under government control

strategy

a plan for achieving success

subordinate

a person with a less important position in an organization

production

the process of converting inputs (land, labor, capital,…) into saleable goods

inventories

the stock of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods held by a business

lean production

the production of goods and services with the minimum waste of resources

job production

the production of items one at a time

batch production

the production of goods in batches. Each batch passes through one stage of production before moving onto the next stage

flow production

the production of very large quantities of identical goods using a continuously moving process

just-in-time (JIT)

a production method that involves reducing/virtually eliminating the need to hold inventories for raw materials/unsold inventories of the finished product

Kaizen

a concept emphasizing small, continuous improvements suggested by workers; involving re-organizing the factory floor to streamline the production flow

cell production

production is divided into self-contained units (cells), with each cell responsible for a part of the final product

lead time

the length of time that lapses between placing an order for something and receiving it