DECA Business Administration Core - Exam Vocabulary

"S" corporation

a form of business ownership that limits personal liability and offers a lower rate of taxation; profits go directly to stockholders who pay taxes as individuals, avoiding the problem of double taxation on corporate profits

Sole proprietorship

a form of business in which the business is owned by one person

Partnership

a form of business ownership that offers lower tax rates but does not offer limited liability

Open/closed corporation

a form of business ownership that offers limited liability but does not offer lower tax rates

Appendices

segments to the end of the primary document that includes supporting information

Articulation

speaking distinctly and clearly and pronouncing words precisely; important in order to communicate exactly what you are trying to say to others

Nonverbal cues

communication that involves the use of gestures, rather than the use of words (facial expressions are the most important aspect)

Flowchart

a graphic that is considered textual (text-oriented) because of the content presented in words and numbers; a common example is an organization chart that depicts the hierarchy of positions and departments within a group

Inquiry

the act of asking for information

Promotional policies

policies in place by a business to govern such activities as contests, coupons, prizes, and special events intended to attract customers and to increase sales

Product policies

policies in place by a business involving the kinds of products that businesses decide to offer for sale

Employee policies

policies in place by a business explaining how employees are to act and how they are to deal with costumers

Service policies

policies in place by a business involving special features, such as repairs and delivery, that businesses encourage customers to choose the business rather than another

Brand promise

a company's agreement (spoken or unspoken) with customers that it will consistently meet their expectations and deliver on its brand characteristics and values

Capital resouce

assets used to produce a good or service

Human resouce

a person who works to produce a good

Economics

the process of deciding how to obtain the greatest satisfaction with limited incomes, land, property, and natural resources

Inelastic

the demand for a good or service that is constant, even if the product's price change

Elastic

demand changes when the price changes

Adaptability

synonym for flexibility, the ability to adapt to changes as they occur

Ethnocentrism

the belief that your own culture is naturally better than other cultures

Groupthink

a form of extreme cohesiveness that occurs when individually and independent thinking within the group are discouraged

Tax liabilty

a tax that a person or business must pay the government

Endorsement

signing the back of the check, allowing the funds to be transferred from the check source to the payee

Commission

the percentage of the total sale amount paid to the individual or business that makes the sale

Fine

a monetary sum paid to a government agency when an individual or business violates a law

Stipend

a fixed sum of money paid as a salary or allowance

Purchasing

to obtain goods and services for use in the business

Controlling

the management function that monitors the work effort

Effective goal

a goal that takes priority over other activities through wise decisions

Performance goal

a goal that has to do with how well you do something or simply completing a task

Learning goal

a goal that has to do with mastering a skill

SMART goal

a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time bound

Product innovation

when a company creates a new product or redesigns an existing product

Paradigm innovation

When the entire perception of a product, company, or industry takes place

Touch point

the point of contact between a business and its customers

Capital goods

manufactured or constructed items that are used to produce goods and services

Consumer goods

purchased and used by persons to satisfy their own wants and needs

Robinson-Patman Act

prohibits price discrimination and states that all businesses purchasing similar amounts and types of products should be charged the same price

Sherman Antitrust Act

prevents monopolies from forming and hinders price fixing (all businesses charging the same price)

Celler-Kefauver Antimerger Act

protects competitors from takeovers if the acquisition would hinder competition

Clayton Act

prevents specific business actions that might restrict competition such as exclusive agreements

Initiative

the willingness to act without having to be told to do so, or the willingness to accept or seek additional or unpleasant duties

Empathy

the ability to put yourself in another person's place

Debit card

a form of payment that automatically withdraws funds from a checking account

Truth-in-Lending Act

requires businesses to provide credit customers with all the information that applies to their accounts and send customers regularly updated statements showing the status of their accounts

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

to make the granting of credit fair by prohibiting the denial of credit based on the applicant's gender, race, age, martial status, or national origin

Fair Credit Billing Act

requires businesses that extend credit to respond within 30 days to any customer's complaint or inquiry about a billing error

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act

gives the consumers the right to inspect the files of their credit history at any credit agency and to have any mistakes corrected

Net pay

the amount of money that a person will actually receive after all the withholdings have been taken out

Gross pay

the amount a person earns before having the withholdings taken out

Credit union

a nonprofit financial cooperative set up to provide savings and credit services to its members, who are also the owners

Savings and loan association

a financial institution that offers savings accounts and makes loans to borrowers, most of which are for real estate purchase

Commercial bank

a full-service bank offering a variety of banking services including checking and savings accounts, secured and unsecured loans, installment credit, and bank credit cards

Exit interviews

discussions with employees who are leaving that are designed to gain feedback for the business

Testimonial

a statement by an identified user of a product proclaiming the benefits received from the use of the product

Materials Requirement Planning (MRP)

a business's manufacturing or production functions uses this software

Computer-aided Engineering (CAE)

a software that is useful for product development

Automated Clearinghouse (ACH)

a software that is used for financial purposes, particularly banking activities

Query

the mechanism used to obtain the desired information from the database

Merger

the absorption of one company by another rather than a type of business ownership

Market research

how producers find out what consumers want to buy

Economic votes

a term given to the purchasing choices consumers make

Price controls

artificial ceilings or floors set by governments or by common consent within the market to manipulate the market for consumer or producer benefit

Retailing

when a sale of goods or services to the consumer takes place

Discounting

reducing the price of a good or service

Wholesaling

the process of buying goods from producers and selling them to retailers

Producing

the process of making goods and services

Transferring

reducing or eliminating a risk factor to some other person or business

Bonding

purchasing an insurance policy to cover possible theft or loss involving the specific person

Rebates

refunds usually offered by the manufacturer of the product

Trademarks

symbols, designs, or words used by producers to identify goods or services

Bonds

certificate that says the governing corporation will borrow your money at a particular interest rate for a particular period of time

Tarrifs

taxes on imported goods

Subsidy

government financial help given to a business

Process innovation

focuses on how something is done and innovated

Positioning innovation

occurs when the purpose of a product is changed for innovation

Common law

law created by court decisions rather than through written legislation

Lien

a legal claim to an item or proterty that protects the seller if the buyer does not complete his/her payments

Excise taxes

specific, targeted taxes that are applied to specific goods and use a flat rate

Law of supply

that quantity of goods or services that will be offered for sale varies in direct relation to its selling price

Law of demand

the quantity of a good or service that customers will buy varies inversely with the price

Traditional economy

a system in which people produce only what they must have in order to exist

Fiat money

money that has no intrinsic value; its value comes from government backing (ex.: paper money_

Revolving credit

limits the total amount of money that may be owed and charges interest on outstanding balances

Layaway

paying over a period of time for merchandise held by the store until the customer pays in full

Meta tags

HTML codes that display information about web pages

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange, plain text from which the HTML document is usually created

Data mining

the process of searching computer databases for patterns of information and correlations or relationships among information

Continuous production

a process that turns out products without stopping

Intermittent production

a system that is shut down from time to time for various reasosn

Batch production

a process that produces specific quantities of a product as needed (ex.: restaurant entrees)

Unit production

process that focuses on producing one or a few products at a time

Confidentiality

refers to the agreement of an individual or party not to share the sensitive information of another individual or party

Licensing agreement

a business structure that requires the authorization or permission from an owner to another entity to use trademarked, copyrighted, or patented material for a specific activity during a specific time period for profit of both parties

Business-format franchise

a franchise agreement in which the franchisee must operate under the trade name of the parent company that provides continuous assistance in setting up and operating the business

Multi-level marketing

a business that pays commissions on sales earned to people at two or more levels

Pay stub

a piece of personal finance information that shows the wages a person earns during a certain time period

Accounts payable record

a record showing money owed and payments made by the business

Sales invoice

a document that records the details of a transaction between a buyer and a seller