GMS 200 All Key Terms After Midterm Exam Review 2025/2026

Chapter 6,10,11,14. Remove duplicates.

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act

The Canadian law that protects a firm from creditors while management reorganizes to restore solvency.

BCG Matrix

A tool to analyze business opportunities according to market growth rate and market share.

Business strategy

A strategy that identifies how a division or strategic business unit will compete in its product or service domain.

Competitive advantage

The ability to do something so well that one outperforms competitors.

Concentration

A growth strategy to expand within the same business area.

Co-opetition

The strategy of working with rivals on projects of mutual benefit.

Core competency

A special strength that gives an organization a competitive advantage.

Core values

Broad beliefs about what is or is not appropriate behaviour.

Corporate governance

The system of control and performance monitoring of top management.

Corporate strategy

A strategy that sets long-term direction for the total enterprise.

Cost leadership strategy

A strategy that seeks to operate with low cost so that products can be sold at low prices.

Differentiation strategy

A strategy that offers products that are different from the competition.

Diversification

A growth strategy to expand by acquisition of or investment in new and different business areas.

Divestiture

Selling off parts of the organization to refocus attention on core business areas.

Downsizing

Decreasing the size of operations.

Focus strategy

A strategy that concentrates on serving a unique market segment better than anyone else.

Focused cost leadership

A strategy that seeks the lowest costs of operations within a special market segment.

Focused differentiation strategy

A strategy that offers a unique product to a special market segment.

Functional strategy

A strategy that guides activities within one specific area of operations.

Globalization strategy

A strategy that adopts standardized products and advertising for use worldwide.

Growth strategy

A strategy that involves expansion of the organization’s current operations.

Lack-of-participation error

A failure to include key persons in strategic planning.

Liquidation

What occurs when a business closes and sells its assets to pay creditors.

Mission

A statement that expresses the organization’s reason for existence

Multidomestic strategy

A strategy that customizes products and advertising to best fit local needs.

Operating objectives

Specific results that organizations try to accomplish.

Organizational culture

The predominant value system for the organization as a whole.

Retrenchment, restructuring, and turnaround strategies

Strategies that pursue radical changes to solve problems.

Stakeholders

Individuals and groups directly affected by the organization and its strategic accomplishments.

Strategic alliance

A partnership that organizations join to pursue an area of mutual interest.

Strategic analysis

The process of analyzing the organization, the environment, and the organization’s competitive position and current strategies.

Strategic control

An attempt to make sure that strategies are well implemented and that poor strategies are scrapped or modified.

Strategic intent

The focus on and application of organizational energies on a unifying and compelling goal.

Strategic leadership

Leadership that inspires people to continuously change, refine, and improve strategies and their implementation.

Strategic management

The process of formulating and implementing strategies.

Strategy

A comprehensive plan guiding resource allocation to achieve an organization’s long-term goals.

Strategy formulation

The process of crafting strategies to guide the allocation of resources.

Strategy implementation

The process of putting strategies into action.

Sustainable competitive advantage

The ability to outperform rivals in ways that are difficult or costly to imitate.

SWOT analysis

An examination of organizational strengths and weaknesses and environmental opportunities and threats.

Transnational strategy

A strategy that seeks efficiencies of global operations with attention to local markets.

Turnaround strategy

A strategy that tries to fix specific performance problems.

Vertical integration

A growth strategy to expand by acquiring upstream suppliers or downstream distributors.

Authentic leadership

Leadership that activates positive psychological states to achieve self-awareness and positive self-regulation

Authority decision

A decision made by the leader and then communicated to the group

Autocratic-style leader

A leader who acts in a command-and-control fashion

Character leadership

Leaders have the values, traits, and virtues that engender credibility and trust

Charismatic leader

A leader who inspires followers in extraordinary ways.

Coercive power

The capacity to punish or withhold positive outcomes as a means of influencing other people

Consultative decision

A decision made by a leader after receiving information, advice, or opinions from group members

Democratic-style leader

A leader who emphasizes both tasks and people

Emotional intelligence

The ability to manage our emotions in social relationships

Empowerment

What enables others to gain and use decision-making power.

Expert power

The capacity to influence others because of specialized knowledge

Followership

The act of joining with a leader to accomplish tasks and goals

Gender similarities hypothesis

The notion that males and females have similar psychological properties

Group or team decision

A decision made by team members

Human capital

The ability to get things done based on what we know and can do

Human relations–style leader

A leader who emphasizes people over task

Information and networking power

The ability to influence others through access to information and contacts with other people

Integrity

What one shows when one acts with honesty, credibility, and consistency in putting values into action

Interactive leader

A leader who is a strong communicator and acts in democratic and participative ways with followers

Laissez-faire-style leader

A leader who has a "do the best you can and don't bother me" attitude

Leadership

The process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks.

Leadership double bind

The situation where women get criticized for displaying stereotypical male leadership characteristics and also for displaying stereotypical female leadership characteristics

Leadership style

A recurring pattern of behaviours exhibited by a leader.

Least-preferred co-worker scale

A measure of leadership style used in Fiedler's contingency model

Legitimate power

The capacity to influence others by virtue of formal authority, or the rights of office.

Moral leadership

Leadership that is always "good" and "right" by ethical standards

Moral overconfidence

An overly positive view of one's strength of character

Power

The ability to get others to do something you want done or to make things happen the way you want

Referent power

The capacity to influence other people because of their desire to identify personally with you

Reward power

The capacity to offer something of value as a means of influencing other people

Servant leadership

Leadership that is follower-centred and committed to helping others in their work

Social capital

The ability to get things done because of who you know

Substitutes for leadership

Factors in the work setting that direct work efforts without the involvement of a leader.

Transformational leadership

Leadership that is inspirational and arouses extraordinary effort and performance

Vision

A clear sense of the future

Visionary leadership

Leadership that brings to the situation a clear sense of the future and an understanding of how to get there.

Angel investor

A wealthy individual willing to invest in a new venture in return for an equity stake.

Benefit corporation

A corporate form for businesses whose stated goals are to combine making a profit with benefiting society and the environment.

Business Development Program

A program through the Government of Canada that provides advice to new and existing small businesses.

Business incubator

A facility that offers space, shared services, and advice to help get small businesses started.

Business model

A plan for making a profit by generating revenues that are greater than costs.

Business plan

A description of the direction for a new business and the financing needed to operate it.

Classic entrepreneur

Someone willing to pursue opportunities in situations others view as problems or threats.

Corporation

A legal entity that exists separately from its owners.

Crowdfunding

The online provision of start-up financing from crowds of investors to entrepreneurs starting new ventures.

Debt financing

Borrowing money that must be repaid over time, with interest.

Entrepreneurship

Risk-taking behaviour that results in new opportunities.

Equity financing

Exchanging ownership shares for outside investment monies.

Family business

A business owned and controlled by members of a family.

Family business feud

What occurs when family members have major disagreements over how the business should be run.

First-mover advantage

The benefits that come from being first to exploit a niche or enter a market.

Franchise

What results when one business owner sells to another the right to operate the same business in another location.

Initial public offering

An initial selling of shares to the public at large.

Lean start-ups

Start-ups that use resources like open-source software while containing costs, staying small, and keeping operations as simple as possible.

Limited liability corporation

A hybrid business form combining the advantages of the sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation.

Necessity-based entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship that takes place because other employment options don’t exist.

Partnership

A form of business where two or more people agree to contribute resources to start and operate a business together.