BAC Business Terminology

Civil law

Laws that deal with the rights and duties of private entities and disputes between them

Criminal law

Crimes against individuals or societies, legal punishment of criminal offenses

Administrative law

Actions of government agencies to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in implementations of laws

Intellectual property

Refers to the rights of creators over original ideas and works

Patents

Protects inventions of processes which grants protection by the government for a period of time

Trademarks

Symbols, phrases, names, or devices to identify/distinguish goods are protected

Copyrights

Legal protection of books and other artistic works (gives creators sole rights for a certain period)

Trade secrets

Information that a company uses for competitive advantage in the business world

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a regulatory agency under Department of Labor that ensures safe and healthy working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards

Business torts

Civil wrongdoings that cause harm or loss, like fraudulent misrepresentation, defamation, tortious interference, false advertising, invasion of privacy, product liability, or premises liability

Contract

Voluntary, deliberate, and legally binding agreement, typically written, and sometimes spoken or implied

Debtor

The person who owes a financial obligation

Creditor

The person who is owed the obligation

Environmental law

Aims to protect natural resources, control pollution, and promote sustainable development through regulations

Sole proprietorship

Owned and operated by one individual, where the owner has complete control and responsibility for all aspects

Partnership

Owned by two or more people who share profits, responsibilities, and liabilities

Corporation

A legal entity separate from its owners, offering limited liability protection to shareholders (publicly or privately held, owned by the stockholders)

LLC (Limited Liability Company)

A hybrid structure combining elements of partnerships and corporations (owners enjoy protection with flexibility in management and taxation)

Joint venture/strategic alliance

Two or more business enter a relationships for the benefit of all

Limited partnership

Permits a partner to invest money for limited liability

Stockholder/shareholder

Purchases stock to become a (fractional) owner

Import violations

Hiding the nature, origin, or value of imports brought into a country to avoid certain duties

Export violations

Fails to obtain export license before shipping goods out

Smuggling

Bringing forbidden items in

False declaration

Misrepresenting or leaving out information about items that an individual is bringing inside a country

“REVIEW” concept

Relevance of source, Expertise of author, Viewpoint of author or organization, Intended audience, Evidence, When published (used to check for valid, relevant material)

1. Pre-read

Determine what you need to know as a result of your reading, scan headings and topic titles, and look at graphics to get a general idea

2. Read

Pay attention to main ideas, key details, and supporting ideas, and look for answers to questions you set for yourself

3. Review

Reflect on the content, ensure you have covered everything you needed to gain as a result of your reading

Verbal communication

The process of conveying information, thoughts, and ideas using spoken language

Intrapersonal communication

Internal dialogue and talking to yourself

Interpersonal communication

Two people discussing something

Small group communication

Small meetings or a group of friends

Public communication

Presentations, announcements, and broadcasts

Rhetorical triangle

Ethos (credibility), Pathos (emotion), Logos (logic)

Lean channel (of communication)

Presents messages/information without allowing for immediate interaction/feedback; goal is just to convey information (emails, social media, texts, documents, blogs, brochures)

Rich channel (of communication)

More interactive, and provide opportunities for two-way communication and nonverbal cue detection (face-to-face meetings, online conferencing, phone calls)

Pie chart

Representing part-to-whole

Bar chart/histogram

Representing values across categories

Line graph

Representing information over time

Table

Representing information by row and column

Written communication

The process of conveying information, thoughts, and ideas using written language

Business letter

A form of written communication between businesses or individuals that conveys information, requests action, or discusses a deal

Informational message

Concise updates that clearly convey important facts/details

Persuasive message

A message that aims to change or influence a person’s behavior, action, or opinion

Executive summary

Short document that summarizes a longer report or proposal

Written report

A document that presents information in a structured format

Upward communication

From employees to their manager

Downwards communication

From a manger to his/her employees

Lateral/horizontal communication

To fellow team members or other employees on your level

Service orientation

Ability or desire to anticipate, recognize, and meet others needs, the intention to help the customer at all costs

Globalization

The increasing connection between the world's economies, cultures, and populations

Business policy

A general rule to personnel that they should follow

Customer loyalty

The likelihood of previous customer continuing to buy from a specific organization (repeat purchases)

Brand promise

An expected tangible benefit that creates desire for a product/service and differentiates a company from competitors, a statement that describes value and the company’s goals to provide for their customers

Touchpoints

Every interaction a company has with their customers, and essentially represent every opportunity said company has to deliver on their brand promise

Customer relationship management (CRM)

An approach to manage a company’s interaction with current and potential customers

Ethics

Moral rights/wrongs that guide human actions

Economic goods

Tangible items that have monetary value and satisfy customer needs/wants

Economic services

Intangible items that have monetary value and satisfy customer needs/wants

Industrial goods/services

Purchased by a business for commercial use

Consumer goods/services

Purchased by an individual for personal use

Economic activity

The production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, purpose of which is to fulfill unlimited wants through the proper allocation of limited resources

Economic resources

Any item that can be used to produce goods/services

Natural resources

Resources that come from nature (like water, coal, and oil)

Human resources

People, the work they do, and their skills/contributions

Capital resources

Material used in production (physical/intellectual/financial)

Entrepreneurship resources

Capacity of people to want to contribute to a field (drives innovation and invention)

Scarcity

The gap between unlimited wants and limited resources

Primary sector of economic activity

Activities that extract raw materials from nature

Secondary sector of economic activity

Activities that process raw materials into finished goods

Tertiary sector of economic activity

Activities that provide services to consumers

Economic utility

Satisfaction, happiness, or benefit that an individual derives from consuming a good or service

Total utility

The overall satisfaction gained from consuming a certain quantity of goods or services

Marginal utility

The additional satisfaction gained from consuming one more unit of a good or service

Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility

As a person consumes more of a good, the marginal utility derived from each subsequent unit typically decreases

Form utility

Using raw materials to make a finished good

Place utility

Having the good available where the customer wishes to buy it

Time utility

Having the good available when the customer wishes to buy it

Possession utility

Exchange of a product for money

Information utility

Communicating with the customer about the product

Supply

Amount of goods and services producers are willing and able to make and sell

Demand

Willingness and ability of consumers to buy goods and services

Law of supply

As price increases, quantity supplied increases (direct relationship)

Law of demand

As price increases, amount demanded decreases (inverse relationship)

Equilibrium

When supply = demand

Surplus

When supply > demand

Shortage

When supply < demand

Seller’s market

Characterized by large demand, small supply, and high prices

Buyer’s market

Characterized by small demand, large supply, and low prices

Signaling function of prices

Conveys information about relative scarcity of a good (indicates when there is high demand or low supply)

Rationing function of prices

Acts as a mechanism to distribute goods among consumers- higher prices lead to less demand and lower prices encourage higher demand

Incentive function of prices

Motivates producers to either increase or decrease production based on profit potential

Allocative function of prices

Guides allocation of resources within an economy by directing production towards highly valued goods and services

Price

Money placed on a good or service

Price ratio

Ratio of a relative price of a product compared to the relative price of another

Social responsibility

Duty of a business to contribute to the well-being of society

Retailer model

Consumer interacts with retailers, who buy their products from wholesalers and resell at a markup

Manufacturing model

Production of goods from raw materials and wholesalers distribute products

Franchise model

A blueprint is developed for a successful business and sell it to investors/franchisees