Entrepreneurship, Return on Quality, International Management, & Negotiation

Vocabulary review covering business startup formation, organizational vision and culture, Return on Quality (ROQ) methods, international cultural dimensions, and negotiation principles.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A corporate structure organized at the state level that protects owners from personal liability without granting automatic ownership of the business name.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

A formal document issued to solicit bids from vendors for products or services; government agency contracts under $\$10{,}000$ do not require one.

SWaM

An acronym for Small, Woman, and Minority-Owned Business, to which a mandatory portion of RFPs must be awarded.

Encroachment

A conflict in franchising where two branded locations of the same business overlap geographically.

Real-Estate Investment Trust (REIT)

A company that owns or finances income-producing real estate without managing the property directly.

Public-Private Partnership (P3)

A formal collaboration between a government agency and a private sector enterprise to finance, construct, or operate projects.

Script Theory

A psychological theory stating that consumers enter commercial transactions with predetermined expectations (mental scripts) and only actively pay attention when there is a deviation from the script.

Photo Elicitation

A qualitative research technique that utilizes photographs or visual stimuli to facilitate brainstorming and concept generation.

Surprise Mirror

The organizational dynamic where the more managers surprise and delight employees, the more those employees will surprise and delight customers.

Vivid Vision

A comprehensive vision statement spanning $4\text{--}5$ pages that articulates precisely where an organization aims to be in $3$ years.

Shared Vision

A widely accepted and clearly communicated internal consensus regarding an organization's purpose and future trajectory, directly leading to innovation.

VIRO Framework

A resource-based view assessing whether an intangible asset functions as a Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) by being Valuable, In-imitable, Rare, and Organized to capture value.

Tacit Knowledge

Intuitive, experience-based knowledge that is difficult to codify or transfer and must be felt to learn.

Explicit Knowledge

Codified information that is easily articulated, recorded, and transferred to others in written or verbal formats.

Return on Quality (ROQ)

A managerial framework asserting that quality is an investment requiring financial accountability and prioritization against alternative initiatives.

Confirmation Bias

The cognitive error of assigning disproportionate weight to affirmative customer feedback over non-affirmative feedback.

Culture

The overarching set of values, ideas, and attitudes shared by a homogenous group of people and transmitted across generations.

Ethnocentrism

The conscious belief that one’s own culture possesses the superior or correct way of conducting business and solving problems.

Self-Reference Criterion (SRC)

An unconscious reliance on one’s own cultural values, experiences, and background as the primary frame of reference for decision-making.

Cultural Distance

The degree of difference between the cultural norms of two nations, which operates asymmetrically between country pairs.

Individualism/Collectivism Index

A cultural dimension examining whether social frameworks prioritize personal autonomy and achievement over loyalty to the collective group.

Power Distance Index

A cultural metric reflecting the degree of equality or inequality that members of a society accept and expect across hierarchical structures.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index

A cultural metric measuring a society's comfort level with ambiguity, unstructured situations, and unpredictable change.

Masculinity/Femininity Index

A cultural metric measuring whether a society reinforces traditional masculine ideals of assertiveness, power, and achievement versus relational nurturing and quality of life.

Paris Agreement

A legally binding international treaty adopted in $2015$ requiring $195$ parties to submit NDCs to cap global warming well below $2^\bullet\text{C}$, preferably $1.5^\bullet\text{C}$, above pre-industrial levels.

Confiscation

A political risk where a host government or ruling party seizes foreign corporate assets without financial compensation.

Porter's Diamond Model

An economic framework identifying four determinants of national competitive advantage: Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry; Factor Conditions; Demand Conditions; and Related and Supporting Industries.

Expatriate

A professional or student who relocates to live and work in a foreign nation for an extended period of $2$ or more years.

Cultural Imperatives

Business customs and behavioral norms that an outsider must recognize and adopt to successfully operate within a host country.

Cultural Adiaphora

Local cultural customs and practices in which an outsider's participation is optional and carries no penalty.

Cultural Exclusives

Sacred or localized cultural customs reserved strictly for natives in which outside foreign visitors must not participate.

High-Context Culture

A cultural communication environment where meaning relies heavily on nonverbal cues, interpersonal history, and situational context rather than literal speech.

Monochronic Time (M-time)

A linear perception of time where schedules are compartmentalized into distinct units and promptness is prioritized.

Polychronic Time (P-time)

A fluid perception of time emphasizing relationship-building over rigid schedules, characterized by a loose orientation toward punctuality.

BATNA

An acronym for 'Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement,' representing the most advantageous course of action a party can take if negotiations fail.