Business Basics begrippenlijst

Flashcards for business basics vocabulary

Organization

A unit or a collection of people consciously brought together to achieve specific common goals.

Productorganisatie

Organizations focused on manufacturing tangible products.

Dienstverlenende organisatie

Organizations focused on providing intangible services.

Private organisaties

Organizations owned by individuals and/or other organizations.

Publieke organisaties

Organizations owned by the government.

Profit organisaties

Organizations primarily aimed at making profit for the benefit of the owners.

Non-profit & social organisaties

Organizations that do not aim to make a profit, but strive for a social cause or the realization of a need experienced by members.

Non-profit

Supporting non-commercial purposes, such as charities and politics.

Social-profit

Domains such as the health sector, welfare sector, or childcare.

Eenmanszaak

A business structure where the individual/trader carries out commercial activities in their own name.

Vennootschap

A legal structure in which two or more people or entities together establish and manage a company.

Headcount

The number of individuals working in an organization, whether full-time, part-time, or on a temporary basis; a crude measure of the workforce.

Voltijdse equivalenten

A measure to translate the number of employees into an equivalent number of full-time employees, providing an accurate picture of actual staff input.

Beursgenoteerd

The shares (ownership titles) of the company are freely tradable on a regulated financial market.

Niet-beursgenoteerd

The shares (ownership titles) are not freely tradable on a regulated financial market.

Primaire sector

Agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing (1%).

Secundaire sector

Industry and construction (19%).

Tertiaire sector

Tradable and non-tradable services (largest sector in Belgium (80%)).

Arbeidsmarktpolarisatie

Refers to a trend in the labor market where jobs are increasingly concentrated at the extremes of the wage spectrum: highly paid and highly qualified on one hand and low-paid and low-skilled on the other hand. This is at the expense of middle-class jobs (which often contain routine).

Een markt

A place where a certain product/service is offered to a certain customer. Distinction is made between B2B and B2C markets.

B2B

One company supplies products and services to another company (often specifically focused on business needs, and the sales process is more complex than with B2C; B2B relationships are often long-term and based on contracts and partnerships).

B2C

The company offers products or services directly to the end-users (the products or services are often aimed at personal or household needs; the sales process is usually faster and simpler than with B2B; B2C relationships are often shorter and more transactional in nature).

Marktsegmentatie

Refers to the division of a market based on relevant market criteria to distinguish different market segments.

Stakeholdermanagement

Refers to the managing of the stakeholders of an organization.

Een stakeholder

Someone (an individual or group) who is affected (=stake, interest) (positively or negatively) or can influence an organization or part of it.

Economische stakeholder

Those who invest in the economic transactions of the organization and bear part of the risk (from an economic exchange relationship  I give something, and you give something back).

Maatschappelijke stakeholder

Those who are not involved with the organization in a business sense but still have an interest in what the organization does (no economic exchange relationship).

Aanwezige stakeholders

The stakeholders are physically present when the organization's activity is performed, e.g., employees.

Afwezige stakeholders

The stakeholders are not physically present during the execution of the organization's activity, e.g., government.

Ethische stakeholders

The stakeholders are focused on analyzing the social acceptability of the organization's activities.

Instrumentele stakeholders

The stakeholders are an instrument in the physical production of goods or services.

Coöperatieve stakeholders

The stakeholders have a positive relationship with the organization.

Conflicterende stakeholders

The stakeholders have a negative relationship with the organization.

Management

Refers to the continuous making of decisions and the development of activities (process) during planning, organizing, leading, and controlling with the aim of achieving the organizational objectives.

Managers

Members of the organization who initiate and direct the actions of other people in an organization towards achieving the stated organizational goals.

Topmanagers

Located at the top of the organization and is usually responsible for defining the common goal. Their central focus is the organization as a whole, e.g., general manager.

Middenmanagers

Located between the top manager and the lower managers, e.g., regional manager, department head.

Lagere managers

Located hierarchically below the middle managers and directs and coordinates the work of the employees (not of managers), e.g., foreman.

Specialistische manager

Manager who has a very narrow and focused perspective and therefore needs specialist knowledge and skills, e.g., ICT manager.

Generalistische manager

Manager who has a broad focus and needs a combination of various types of knowledge and skills, e.g., CEO, general manager.

Junior manager

Beginning manager with little to no experience and/or seniority; this manager carries a limited set of responsibilities.

Senior manager

Manager with a lot or very much experience and/or seniority; this manager carries a lot of responsibility and/or authority.

Conceptuele vaardigheden

Ability to think about abstract and complex situations and to conceptualize (can reason, quickly familiarize oneself with the idea, and find a solution), e.g., thinking in diagrams.

Menselijke vaardigheden

Possibility to work well with others, both with individuals and in a team  can manage, etc.; it is not trainable, you either have it or you don't.

Technische vaardigheden

Expertise and knowledge of and in a specialist field  having knowledge about a number of domains, e.g., in terms of marketing, HR = is trainable.

Normatieve managementtheorie

Describes what managers should do (4 tasks: plan, organize, lead, control).

Plannen

Formulating objectives and strategies and developing plans to coordinate the necessary activities.

Organiseren

Determining what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and who needs to do it.

Leiding geven

Managing and motivating all participating parties and resolving conflicts.

Controleren

Checking activities to make sure everything is going according to plan.

Continuïteit

Goal of the company to continue to exist for as long as possible.

Output concurrentie

The struggle for customers, the struggle against other firms to convince the customer to buy your products, e.g., Coca Cola vs. Pepsi Cola.

Input concurrentie

The struggle for resources (the war for talent), the struggle between firms to find the right personnel to come and work for them.

Multidoelenomgeving

There is not just 1 objective in a company; several objectives can coexist.

Formele doelen

Goals written down in official, consultable documents.

Informele doelen

Not written down anywhere in formal or consultable documents, but everyone knows that they exist and that they must be realized and respected, but it is not written down anywhere.

Descriptieve managementtheorie

Describes what managers actually do.

Interpersoonlijke rollen

Managers consciously and purposefully build relationships with employees, colleagues, superiors, shareholders, etc. They represent the organization externally, participate in meetings, and chair them. They are the figurehead of the organization, the liaison person, and leader.

Sociale architectuur

Refers to the fact that the manager represents the organization; you are the point of contact, and you speak, for example, in the 'we' form.

Informatierollen

The contacts that managers develop serve to collect, interpret, nuance, and pass on targeted information  managers use informal communication circuits.

Besluitvormingsrollen

Managers DO something with the available information. They make decisions and translate these decisions into targeted actions. Decisiveness characterizes managers.

Self-serving bias

A flaw in the decision-making process, where credit is taken for successes and external factors are blamed for failures.

DESTEP- analyse

A strategic tool that helps companies and organizations understand and analyze the external environment through 6 domains: 1.Demographic environment 2.Ecological environment 3.Sociocultural environment 4.Technological environment 5.Economic environment 6.Political-legal environment  By performing a DESTEP analysis, you can gain insight into the external factors that influence their activities and develop strategies to respond to them.

Conjunctuurgolf

Indicates how well the economy is doing (=baseline)  not every sector follows this line!

Leading

Leading sectors with a faster peak/trough than other sectors (the sectors that are ahead, e.g., logistics).

Lagging

Lagging sectors with a later peak/trough than other sectors (sectors that usually suffer after the economy has suffered, e.g., construction).

Coincident

Sectors that run parallel to the economic cycle, e.g., cosmetics.

SCENARIO-analyse

A management technique in which different decisions are sketched for different scenarios (a possible picture for the future).

Stabiele omgeving

There are no or only a limited number of changes, and/or the time interval between successive changes is large.

Dynamische omgeving

A dynamic environment involves a large number of changes, and/or there is a short time interval between these changes.

Zekere omgeving

The environment and the changes in the environment are fully or largely predictable in advance.

Onzekere omgeving

The environment and environmental changes are not or very limited predictable.

Eenvoudige omgeving

Mapping the environment requires only a limited and easily manageable amount of knowledge.

Complexe omgeving

A complex environment requires a large and therefore difficult to manage amount of knowledge.

Concurrentierentabiliteitskromme

A graph that shows that as competition within the sector increases, the profitability of your company decreases. Conversely, if competition decreases, the profitability of your company increases.

Concentratiegraad

The sum of the market shares of the largest companies in the industry (Cx).

Contesteerbaarheid/ toegankelijkheid van de markt

The degree to which companies can easily enter or exit certain markets.

Arbeidsdeling

Refers to how work is divided among people.

Taakverrijking

Elements of a qualitatively higher level are added to the task package.

Taakverruiming

Elements of a qualitatively equal level are added to the task package.

Horizontale indeling

Refers to the division of a company into logically grouped units (of tasks and functions) = DEPARTMENTALIZATION  the simple structure, functional structure, division structure, combination of these).

Depertementalisatie

The splitting up of a company into logically grouped units (of tasks and functions).

Eenvoudige structuur

A structure with a general manager and below them all employees; it is mainly in small firms, so not suitable for a growing company.

Functionele structuur

A structure where departments are created and there is one person in charge; it is cost-saving through specialization, and it creates a sense of togetherness through the departments BUT little involvement between the departments.

Divisiestructuur

A division structure is a way in which a large company organizes itself by splitting into different parts, each with its own focus. These parts are called divisions, and they work semi-independently within the larger company. Divisions can be based on different criteria like the product, the client, the region and the distribution channel.

Verticale indeling

Refers to whom an employee must be accountable. It is determined who decides and gives orders and who must follow which orders and 'commands' from whom.

Eenheid van gezag

The basic mechanism in every organization. This means that each employee should only be accountable to one superior.

Span of control/ span of management

The number of people who report directly to one manager.

Structurerende kenmerken

These are coordination mechanisms that are used for the mutual coordination between vertical and horizontal divisions (how do I coordinate in a department, and how do I coordinate between two departments?).

Centralisatie/ decentralisatie

Refers to assigning a decision-making authority to a management level. So who in the organization can make which decisions?

Gecentraliseerde organisatie

The decisions are taken high in the organization  the higher management decides on everything on every theme (then you do not need the other layers).

Gedecentraliseerde organisatie

The decisions are taken low in the organization  the lower management levels are allowed to decide.

Reorganisatie

A major change in the decision-making power, horizontal structures, coordination mechanisms, and/or division of labor.

Law of requisite variety

The flexibility must be in balance with the variability of the environment.

De raad van bestuur

Represents the owners and is supplemented by a number of independents; their task is to control the management and see whether the long-term goals are respected.

Leiderschap

The ability to influence groups or individuals OR is a process whereby employees are stimulated and motivated to commit themselves to the realization of the plans and the achievement of the objectives of the organization.

Formeel leiderschap

When the leader is officially designated by the organization.

Informeel leiderschap

The leader is not officially appointed, but the person spontaneously and charismatically assumes leadership.

Taakgericht leiderschap

Information about who-what-where-when (=managing and directing activities and tasks within an organization or team).

Mensgericht leiderschap

Being able to deal with people + interest in the employees.