Business Studies AQA A-level

Ansoff's Matrix

Shows the strategies that a firm can use to expand, according to how risky they are

Assets

Resources owned by a business

Balance sheet

A snapshot of a firm's finances at a particular time

Barrier to entry

An obstacle that makes it harder for companies to enter a market

Benchmarking

a process by which a company compares its performance with that of high-performing organizations

Big data

Large quantities of data that can be collected from different sources

Blake Mouton Grid

An analytical tool to assess leadership style based on the level of interest in the people or task

Boston Matrix

Analyses all of the firm's products in terms of their market share and the growth of the market

Bowman's strategic clock

Shows positioning strategies based on different combinations of price and perceived added value

break-even analysis

a method of determining what sales volume must be reached before total revenue equals total costs

Budget

A plan for making and spending money

Capacity utilisation

The proportion of total capacity that is used (expressed as a percentage)

Capital

a company's wealth in the form of money or property

capital expenditures

Money used to buy fixed assets

Carroll's Pyramid of CSR

A diagram showing four elements of CSR as layers in a pyramid

cashflow

(n) the movement of money into and out of a business as goods are bought and sold

Centralization

decision authority is located near the top of the organization

channel of distribution

a pathway to direct products to consumers

competitive advantage

providing greater value for customers than competitors can

confidence interval

A range in which you can say, with a certain level of confidence, that a value lies

Confidence level

The probability that the research findings are correct

Consumer Price Index

an index of the cost of all goods and services to a typical consumer

contingency plan

plan for unexpected problems

contribution

the difference between selling price and variable cost

core competencies

A unique feature of a business that gives it a competitive advantage

Corporate objectives

Objectives that relate to the business as a whole. Usually set by top management.

CSR (corporate social responsibility)

A company's contribution to society

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

cost-push inflation

rising prices as a result of rising production costs

Creditors

Someone who a business owes money to

Critical path

The sequence of activities in a project that is expected to take the longest to complete

Current Ratio

A liquidity ratio that compares current assets to current liabilities

Debt Capital

The capital raised by borrowing

Debtors

People who owe money to the business

Decentralization

A way to structure a business where decisions are shared across the company

Decision Trees

Provides an example of scientific decision making and involves expected outcomes and net gains

Delayering

Reducing the number of levels in the hierarchy of an organisation

demand-pull inflation

higher prices as a result of consumers wanting to buy more goods and services than producers supply

Demographic change

Changes in population statistics over time

Depreciation

A decrease or loss in value

developed country

a wealthy country with an advanced economy HIGH GDP

developing country

A country that has low industrial production and little modern technology LOW GDP

Dimensions of National culture

A model used to compare the differences in cultural values between different countries

Director

A person responsible for running a company

Discrimination

Behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group.

Diversification

Selling new products to new markets

Earliest start time

The earliest time an activity may begin

Economic growth

The rate of increase in GDP

economies of scale

factors that cause a producer's average cost per unit to fall as output rises

economies of scope

the ability to use one resource to provide many different products and services

elasticity of demand

a measure of how consumers react to a change in price

Elkington's Triple Bottom Line

Highlights that businesses may have different objectives, not just for profit, but planet and people

Embargo

A ban on trade with particular countries

Emergent strategy

A strategy that develops over time, based on experiences and changes in the environment

emerging economy

a developing country

employment tribunal

court for cases related to employment

equity capital

money that a business obtains from its shares

Ethical

Morally acceptable

exchange rate

The measure of how much one currency is worth in relation to another.

fiscal policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

fixed assets

assets that are relatively permanent, such as land, buildings, and equipment

fixed costs

costs that remain constant as output changes

flat structure

have a wide span and fewer levels

Float time

The amount an activity can be delayed before the project overall will overrun.

Force Field Analysis

Outlines the process of determining which forces drive and which resist a proposed change

Forecasting

Method for predicting how variables will change the future

Franchising

A method of distributing recognized goods and services through a legal agreement between two parties

Functional objectives

goals or targets by each of the functional areas of a business

Gearing

The amount of capital raised from loans in relation to the amount raised from the sale of shares.

Globalization

interconnection and integration among people, economies, and societies throughout the world

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

The total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy

Historical budget

A budget based on previous budgets

HR management

Recruiting, hiring, training, and compensating all types of personnel

Income Statement

financial statement which reports net income or net loss of a company

Inflation

A general and progressive increase in prices

infrastructure

the basic framework of a building or a system

innovation

An improvement of an existing technological product, system, or method of doing something.

Insolvent

Unable to pay debts; penniless

interest rate

the price of credit to a borrower

Inventory

Asset/stock

Inventory Turnover

COGS/Inventory

just in time

an inventory management approach in which supplies arrive just when needed for production or resale

Kaizen

Continuous improvement

Kanban

a ticket-based JIT system that indicates when to reorder inventory

Kaplan and Norton's balance scorecard model

A model assessing performance using 4 different perspectives:

Finance

Internal process

Learning and growth

Customers

Labour retention

The extent to which a business holds onto its employees

Labour turnover

The rate at which workers leave a business

latest finish time (LF)

the latest start time of the activity that immediately follows

Lean production

Producing goods and services with the minimum of wasted resources while maintaining high quality

liability

an amount owed by a business - debt

living wage

a wage that enables workers to support a decent life for themselves and their families

Margin of safety

The difference between the actual level of output and the break even output

Market development

Selling existing products to new markets

Marketing Mix

Product, Place, Price, Promotion, people, process, physical environment

Market Mapping

A graph imparting 2 aspects of different products or bands in a market help find a gap in the market

market penetration

a marketing strategy that tries to increase market share among existing customers

market share

a company's product sales as a percentage of total sales for that industry

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization - employees needs in a job

mass customization

tailoring products to meet the needs of individual customers

matrix structure

a structure where both divisional and functional managers have equal authority in the organization