BUSN10 Introduction to Business by Kelly, Williams

BUSN10 Introduction to Business by Kelly, Williams is the BUSN10: Introduction to Business textbook authored by Marcella Kelly and Chuck Williams and published in 2018 by Cengage Learning.

• 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans. Employee payroll-deduction retirement plans that offer tax benefits.
• Absolute advantage. The benefit a country has in a given industry when it can produce more of a product than other nations using the same amount of resources.
• Accounting. A system for recognizing, organizing, analyzing, and reporting information about the financial transactions that affect an organization.
• Accounting equation. Assets = Liabilities + Owners' Equity.
• Accredited investor. An organization or individual investor who meets certain criteria established by the SEC and so qualifies to invest in unregistered securities.
• Accrual-basis accounting. The method of accounting that recognizes revenue when it is earned and matches expenses to the revenues they helped produce.
• Acquisition. A corporate restructuring in which one firm buys another.
• Active listening. Attentive listening that occurs when the listener focuses his or her complete attention on the speaker.
• Active voice. Sentence construction in which the subject performs the action expressed by the verb (e.g., The accountant did the taxes.). The active voice works better for the vast majority of business communication.
• Activity-based costing (ABC). A technique to assign product costs based on links between activities that drive costs and the production of specific products.
• Administrative law. Laws that arise from regulations established by government agencies.
• Advergaming. Video games created as a marketing tool, usually with brand awareness as the core goal.
• Advertising. Paid, nonpersonal communication, designed to influence a target audience with regard to a product, service, organization, or idea.
• Affirmative action. Policies meant to increase employment and educational opportunities for minority groups -- especially groups defined by race, ethnicity, or gender.
• Agent. A party who agrees to represent another party, called the principal.
• Agents/brokers. Independent distributors who do not take title of the goods they distribute (even though they may take physical possession on a temporary basis before distribution).
• Angel investors. Individuals who invest in start-up companies with high growth potential in exchange for a share of ownership.
• Annual percentage rate (APR). The interest expense charged on a credit card, expressed as an annual percentage.
• Applications software. Software that helps a user perform a desired task.
• Apprenticeships. Structured training programs that mandate that each beginner serve as an assistant to a fully trained worker before gaining full credentials to work in the field.
• Arbitration. A process in which a neutral third party has the authority to resolve a dispute by rendering a binding decision.
• Articles of incorporation. The document filed with a state government to establish the existence of a new corporation.
• Asset management ratios. Financial ratios that measure how effectively a firm is using its assets to generate revenues or cash.
• Assets. Resources owned by a firm.
• Autocratic leaders. Leaders who hoard decision-making power for themselves and typically issue orders without consulting their followers.
• Automation. Replacing human operation and control of machinery and equipment with some form of programmed control.
• Balance of payments. A measure of the total flow of money into or out of a country.
• Balance of payments deficit. Shortfall that occurs when more money flows out of a nation than into that nation.
• Balance of payments surplus. Overage that occurs when more money flows into a nation than out of that nation.
• Balance of trade. A basic measure of the difference in value between a nation's exports and imports, including both goods and services.
• Balance sheet. A financial statement that reports the financial position of a firm by identifying and reporting the value of the firm's assets, liabilities, and owners' equity.
• Baldrige National Quality Program. A national program to encourage American firms to focus on quality improvement.
• Banking Act of 1933. The law that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits. It also prohibited commercial banks from selling insurance or acting as investment banks.
• Behavioral segmentation. Dividing the market based on how people behave toward various products. This category includes both the benefits that consumers seek from products and how consumers use the products.
• Benefits. Noncash compensation, including programs such as health insurance, vacation, and childcare.
• Bias. A preconception about members of a particular group. Common forms of bias include gender bias; age bias; and race, ethnicity, or nationality bias.
• Board of directors. The individuals who are elected by stockholders of a corporation to represent their interests.
• Bond. A formal debt instrument issued by a corporation or government entity.
• Boycott. A tactic in which a union and its supporters and sympathizers refuse to do business with an employer with which they have a labor dispute.
• Brand. A product's identity -- including product name, symbol, design, reputation, and image -- that sets it apart from other players in the same category.
• Brand equity. The overall value of a brand to an organization.
• Brand extension. A new product, in a new category, introduced under an existing brand name.
• Breach of contract. The failure of one party to a contract to perform his or her contractual obligations.
• Breakeven analysis. The process of determining the number of units a firm must sell to cover all costs.
• Broadband Internet connection. An Internet connection that is capable of transmitting large amounts of information very quickly.
• Budget (personal). A detailed forecast of financial inflows (income) and outflows (expenses) to determine your net inflow or outflow for a given period of time.
• Budget deficit. Shortfall that occurs when expenses are higher than revenue over a given period of time.
• Budget surplus. Overage that occurs when revenue is higher than expenses over a given period of time.
• Budgeted balance sheet. A projected financial statement that forecasts the types and amounts of assets a firm will need to implement its future plans and how the firm will finance those assets. (Also called a pro forma balance sheet.)
• Budgeted income statement. A projection showing how a firm's budgeted sales and costs will affect expected net income. (Also called a pro forma income statement.)
• Budgeting. A management tool that explicitly shows how a firm will acquire and use the resources needed to achieve its goals over a specific time period.
• Business. Any organization or activity that provides goods and services in an effort to earn a profit.
• Business buyer behavior. Describes how people act when they are buying products to use either directly or indirectly to produce other products.
• Business cycle. The periodic contraction and expansion that occur over time in virtually every economy.
• Business environment. The setting in which business operates. The five key components are: economic environment, competitive environment, technological environment, social environment, and global environment.
• Business ethics. The application of right and wrong, good and bad, in a business setting.
• Business format franchise. A broad franchise agreement in which the franchisee pays for the right to use the name, trademark, and business and production methods of the franchisor.
• Business intelligence system. A sophisticated form of decision support system that helps decision makers discover information that was previously hidden.
• Business law. The application of laws and legal principles to business relationships and transactions.
• Business marketers (also known as business-to-business or B2B). Marketers who direct their efforts toward people who are buying products to use either directly or indirectly to produce other products.
• Business plan. A formal document that describes a business concept, outlines core business objectives, and details strategies and timelines for achieving those objectives.
• Business products. Products purchased to use either directly or indirectly in the production of other products.
• Business technology. Any tools -- especially computers, telecommunications, and other digital products -- that businesses can use to become more efficient and effective.
• Business-to-business e-commerce (B2B e-commerce). E-commerce in markets where businesses buy from and sell to other businesses.
• Business-to-consumer e-commerce (B2C e-commerce). E-commerce in which businesses and final consumers interact.
• Buzz marketing. The active stimulation of word-of-mouth via unconventional, and often relatively low-cost, tactics. Other terms for buzz marketing are "guerrilla marketing" and "viral marketing."
• C corporation. The most common type of corporation, which is a legal business entity that offers limited liability to all of its owners, who are called stockholders.
• Cafeteria-style benefits. An approach to employee benefits that gives all employees a set dollar amount that they must spend on company benefits, allocated however they wish within broad limitations.
• Cannibalization. When a producer offers a new product that takes sales away from its existing products.
• Capital budgeting. The process a firm uses to evaluate long-term investment proposals.
• Capital gain. The return on an asset that results when its market price rises above the price the investor paid for it.
• Capital structure. The mix of equity and debt financing a firm uses to meet its permanent financing needs.
• Capitalism. An economic system -- also known as the private enterprise or free market system -- based on private ownership, economic freedom, and fair competition.
• Carbon footprint. Refers to the amount of harmful greenhouse gases that a firm emits throughout its operations, both directly and indirectly.
• Case law (also called common law). Laws that result from rulings, called precedents, made by judges who initially hear a particular type of case.
• Cash budget. A detailed forecast of future cash flows that helps financial managers identify when their firm is likely to experience temporary shortages or surpluses of cash.
• Cash equivalents. Safe and highly liquid assets that many firms list with their cash holdings on their balance sheet.
• Cause-related marketing. Marketing partnerships between businesses and nonprofit organizations, designed to spike sales for the company and raise money for the nonprofit.
• Certificate of deposit (CD). An interest-earning deposit that requires the funds to remain deposited for a fixed term. Withdrawal of the funds before the term expires results in a financial penalty.
• Channel intermediaries. Distribution organizations that facilitate the movement of products from the producer to the consumer.
• Channel of distribution. The network of organizations and processes that links producers to consumers.
• Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A form of bankruptcy that discharges a debtor's debts by liquidating assets and using the proceeds to pay off creditors.
• Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A form of bankruptcy used by corporations and individuals that allows the debtor to reorganize operations under a courtapproved plan.
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A form of bankruptcy that allows individual debtors to set up a repayment plan to adjust their debts.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal legislation that prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, apprenticeships, training, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
• Closed shop. An employment arrangement in which the employer agrees to hire only workers who already belong to the union.
• Cloud computing. The use of Internet-based storage capacity, processing power, and computer applications to supplement or replace internally owned information technology resources.
• Cobranding. When established brands from different companies join forces to market the same product.
• Code of ethics. A formal, written document that defines the ethical standards of an organization and gives employees the information they need to make ethical decisions across a range of situations.
• Cognitive dissonance. Consumer discomfort with a purchase decision, typically for a higher-priced item.
• Collective bargaining. The process by which representatives of union members and employers attempt to negotiate a mutually acceptable labor agreement.
• Commercial banks. Privately owned financial institutions that accept demand deposits and make loans and provide other services for the public.
• Commercial paper. Short-term (and usually unsecured) promissory notes issued by large corporations.
• Common market. A group of countries that have eliminated tariffs and harmonized trading rules to facilitate the free flow of goods among the member nations.
• Common stock. The basic form of ownership in a corporation.
• Communication. The transmission of information between a sender and a recipient.
• Communication barriers. Obstacles to effective communication, typically defined in terms of physical, language, body language, cultural, perceptual, and organizational barriers.
• Communication channels. The various ways in which a message can be sent, ranging from one-on-one in-person meetings to Internet message boards.
• Communism. An economic and political system that calls for public ownership of virtually all enterprises, under the direction of a strong central government.
• Company matching. An amount contributed by the employer to an employee's retirement account, matching the employee's retirement contributions either dollar-for-dollar or based on a percentage of each dollar contributed by the employee.
• Comparative advantage. The benefit a country has in a given industry if it can make products at a lower opportunity cost than other countries.
• Compensation. The combination of pay and benefits that employees receive in exchange for their work.
• Compensatory damages. Monetary payments that a party who breaches a contract is ordered to pay in order to compensate the injured party for the actual harm suffered by the breach of contract.
• Compressed workweek. A version of flextime scheduling that allows employees to work a full-time number of hours in less than the standard workweek.
• Computer virus. Computer software that can be spread from one computer to another without the knowledge or permission of the computer users by attaching itself to emails or other files.
• Computer-aided design (CAD). Drawing and drafting software that enables users to create and edit blueprints and design drawings quickly and easily.
• Computer-aided design/computeraided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). A combination of software that can be used to design output and send instructions to automated equipment to perform the steps needed to produce this output.
• Computer-aided engineering (CAE). Software that enables users to test, analyze, and optimize their designs.
• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Software that takes the electronic design for a product and creates the programmed instructions that robots must follow to produce that product as efficiently as possible.
• Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). A combination of CAD/CAM software with flexible manufacturing systems to automate almost all steps involved in designing, testing, and producing a product.
• Conceptual skills. The ability to grasp a big-picture view of the overall organization, the relationships among its various parts, and its fit in the broader competitive environment.
• Conglomerate merger. A combination of two firms that are in unrelated industries.
• Consideration. Something of value that one party gives another as part of a contractual agreement.
• Constitution. A code that establishes the fundamental rules and principles that govern a particular organization or entity.
• Consumer behavior. Description of how people act when they are buying, using, and discarding goods and services for their own personal consumption. Consumer behavior also explores the reasons behind people's actions.
• Consumer marketers (also known as business-to-consumer or B2C). Marketers who direct their efforts toward people who are buying products for personal consumption.
• Consumer price index (CPI). A measure of inflation that evaluates the change in the weighted-average price of goods and services that the average consumer buys each month.
• Consumer products. Products purchased for personal use or consumption.
• Consumer promotion. Marketing activities designed to generate immediate consumer sales, using tools such as premiums, promotional products, samples, coupons, rebates, and displays.
• Consumerism. A social movement that focuses on four key consumer rights: (1) the right to be safe, (2) the right to be informed, (3) the right to choose, and (4) the right to be heard.
• Contingency planning. Planning for unexpected events, usually involving a range of scenarios and assumptions that differ from the assumptions behind the core plans.
• Contingent workers. Employees who do not expect regular, full-time jobs, including temporary fulltime workers, independent contractors, and temporary agency or contract agency workers.
• Contract. An agreement that is legally enforceable.
• Contraction. A period of economic downturn, marked by rising unemployment and falling business production.
• Controlling. Monitoring performance and making adjustments as needed.
• Convertible security. A bond or share of preferred stock that gives its holder the right to exchange it for a stated number of shares of common stock.
• Copyright. The exclusive legal right of an author, artist, or other creative individual to use, copy, display, perform, and sell their own creations and to license others to do so.
• Corporate bylaws. The basic rules governing how a corporation is organized and how it conducts its business.
• Corporate philanthropy. All business donations to nonprofit groups, including money, products, and employee time.
• Corporate responsibility. Business contributions to the community through the actions of the business itself rather than donations of money and time.
• Corporation. A form of business ownership in which the business is considered a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners.
• Cost. The value of what is given up in exchange for something.
• Countertrade. International trade that involves the barter of products for products rather than for currency.
• Coupon rate. The interest paid on a bond, expressed as a percentage of the bond's par value.
• Covenant. A restriction lenders impose on borrowers as a condition of providing long-term debt financing.
• Craft union. A union comprising workers who share the same skill or work in the same profession.
• Credit. Allows a borrower to buy a good or acquire an asset without making immediate payment, and to repay the balance at a later time.
• Credit card. A card issued by a bank or finance company that allows the cardholder to make a purchase now and pay the credit card issuer later.
• Credit score. A numerical measure of a consumer's creditworthiness.
• Credit union. A depository institution that is organized as a cooperative, meaning that it is owned by its depositors.
• Crime. A wrongful act against society, defined by law and prosecuted by the state.
• Critical path method (CPM). A project-management tool that illustrates the relationships among all the activities involved in completing a project and identifies the sequence of activities likely to take the longest to complete.
• Critical path. The sequence of activities in a project that is expected to take the longest to complete.
• Current yield. The amount of interest earned on a bond, expressed as a percentage of the bond's current market price.
• Customer benefit. The advantage that a customer gains from specific product features.
• Customer loyalty. When customers buy a product from the same supplier again and again -- sometimes paying even more for it than they would for a competitive product.
• Customer relationship management (CRM). The ongoing process of acquiring, maintaining, and growing profitable customer relationships by delivering unmatched value.
• Customer satisfaction. When customers perceive that a good or service delivers value above and beyond their expectations.
• Cybermediary. An Internet-based firm that specializes in the secure electronic transfer of funds.
• Data. Raw, unprocessed facts and figures.
• Data mining. The use of sophisticated statistical and mathematical techniques to analyze vast amounts of data to discover hidden patterns and relationships, thus creating valuable information.
• Data warehouse. A large, organization-wide database that stores data in a centralized location.
• Database. A file consisting of related data organized according to a logical system and stored on a hard drive or some other computeraccessible media.
• Debit card. A card issued by the bank that allows the customer to make purchases as if the transaction involved cash. In a debit card purchase, the customer's bank account is immediately reduced when the purchase is made.
• Debt financing. Funds provided by lenders (creditors).
• Decision support system (DSS). A system that gives managers access to large amounts of data and the processing power to convert these data into high-quality information, thus improving the decision-making process.
• Deflation. A period of falling average prices across the economy.
• Degree of centralization. The extent to which decision-making power is held by a small number of people at the top of the organization.
• Demand. The quantity of products that consumers are willing to buy at different market prices.
• Demand curve. The graphed relationship between price and quantity from a customer demand standpoint.
• Democratic leaders. Leaders who share power with their followers. While they still make final decisions, they typically solicit and incorporate input from their followers.
• Demographic segmentation. Dividing the market into smaller groups based on measurable characteristics about people, such as age, income, ethnicity, and gender.
• Demographics. The measurable characteristics of a population. Demographic factors include population size and density, as well as specific traits such as age, gender, and race.
• Departmentalization. The division of workers into logical groups.
• Depository institution. A financial intermediary that obtains funds by accepting checking and savings deposits and then lending those funds to borrowers.
• Depression. An especially deep and long-lasting recession.
• Direct channel. A distribution process that links the producer and the customer with no intermediaries.
• Direct cost. Costs that are incurred directly as the result of some specific cost object.
• Direct investment (or foreign direct investment). When firms either acquire foreign firms or develop new facilities from the ground up in foreign countries.
• Discount rate. The rate of interest that the Federal Reserve charges when it loans funds to banks.
• Discretionary payments. Expenditures for which the spender has significant control in terms of the amount and timing.
• Disinflation. A period of slowing average price increases across the economy.
• Distribution strategy. A plan for delivering the right product to the right person at the right place at the right time.
• Distributive bargaining. The traditional adversarial approach to collective bargaining.
• Distributorship. A type of franchising arrangement in which the franchisor makes a product and licenses the franchisee to sell it.
• Divestiture. The transfer of total or partial ownership of some of a firm's operations to investors or to another company.
• Dodd-Frank Act. A law enacted in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008–2009 that strengthened government oversight of financial markets and placed limitations on risky financial strategies such as heavy reliance on leverage.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). An index that tracks stock prices of 30 large, well-known U.S. corporations.
• Dynamic delivery. Vibrant, compelling presentation delivery style that grabs and holds the attention of the audience.
• E-commerce. The marketing, buying, selling, and servicing of products over a network (usually the Internet).
• Economic system. A structure for allocating limited resources.
• Economics. The study of the choices that people, companies, and governments make in allocating society's resources.
• Economy. A financial and social system of how resources flow through society, from production, to distribution, to consumption.
• Effectiveness. Using resources to create value by providing customers with goods and services that offer a better relationship between price and perceived benefits.
• Efficiency. Producing output or achieving a goal at the lowest cost.
• Electronic bill presentment and payment. A method of bill payment that makes it easy for the customer to make a payment, often by simply clicking on a payment option contained in an email.
• Electronic communications network (ECN). An automated, computerized securities trading system that automatically matches buyers and sellers, executing trades quickly and allowing trading when securities exchanges are closed.
• E-marketplace. A specialized Internet site where buyers and sellers engaged in business-to-business e-commerce can communicate and conduct business.
• Embargo. A complete ban on international trade of a certain item, or a total halt in trade with a particular nation.
• Employment at will. A legal doctrine that views employment as an entirely voluntary relationship that both the employee and employer are free to terminate at any time and for any reason.
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP). Software-based approach to integrate an organization's (and in the sophisticated versions, a value chain's) information flows.
• Entrepreneurs. People who risk their time, money, and other resources to start and manage a business.
• Environmental scanning. The process of continually collecting information from the external marketing environment.
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). A federal agency designed to regulate and enforce the provisions of Title VII.
• Equilibrium price. The price associated with the point at which the quantity demanded of a product equals the quantity supplied.
• Equity financing. Funds provided by the owners of a company.
• Equity theory. A motivation theory that proposes that perceptions of fairness directly affect worker motivation.
• Ethical dilemma. A decision that involves a conflict of values; every potential course of action has some significant negative consequences.
• Ethics. A set of beliefs about right and wrong, good and bad.
• European Union (EU). The world's largest common market, composed of 28 European nations.
• Everyday-low pricing (EDLP). Long-term discount pricing, designed to achieve profitability through high sales volume.
• Exchange rate. A measurement of the value of one nation's currency relative to the currency of other nations.
• Exchange traded fund (ETF). Shares traded on securities markets that represent the legal right of ownership over part of a basket of individual stock certificates or other securities.
• Expansion. A period of robust economic growth and high employment.
• Expectancy theory. A motivation theory that concerns the relationship among individual effort, individual performance, and individual reward.
• Expenses. Resources that are used up as the result of business operations.
• Expert system (ES). A decision support system that helps managers make better decisions in an area where they lack expertise.
• Exporting. Selling products in foreign nations that have been produced or grown domestically.
• External locus of control. A deep-seated sense that forces other than the individual are responsible for what happens in his or her life.
• External recruitment. The process of seeking new employees from outside the firm.
• Extranet. An intranet that allows limited access to a selected group of stakeholders, such as suppliers or customers.
• Factor. A company that provides short-term financing to firms by purchasing their accounts receivables at a discount.
• Factors of production. Four fundamental elements -- natural resources, capital, human resources, and entrepreneurship -- that businesses need to achieve their objectives.
• Federal debt. The sum of all the money that the federal government has borrowed over the years and not yet repaid.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). An independent agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system, primarily by insuring bank deposits.
• Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The law that established the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States.
• Finance. The functional area of business that is concerned with finding the best sources and uses of financial capital.
• Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The private board that establishes the generally accepted accounting principles used in the practice of financial accounting.
• Financial accounting. The branch of accounting that prepares financial statements for use by owners, creditors, suppliers, and other external stakeholders.
• Financial budgets. Budgets that focus on the firm's financial goals and identify the resources needed to achieve these goals.
• Financial capital. The funds a firm uses to acquire its assets and finance its operations.
• Financial diversification. A strategy of investing in a wide variety of securities in order to reduce risk.
• Financial leverage. The use of debt in a firm's capital structure.
• Financial markets. Markets that transfer funds from savers to borrowers.
• Financial ratio analysis. Computing ratios that compare values of key accounts listed on a firm's financial statements.
• Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999. An act that overturned the section of the Banking Act of 1933 that prohibited commercial banks from selling insurance or performing the functions of investment banks.
• Firewall. Software and/or hardware designed to prevent unwanted access to a computer or computer system.
• First-line management (supervisory management). Managers who directly supervise nonmanagement employees.
• Fiscal policy. Government efforts to influence the economy through taxation and spending.
• Fixed costs. Costs that remain the same when the level of production changes within some relevant range.
• Flextime. A scheduling option that allows workers to choose when they start and finish their workdays, as long as they complete the required number of hours.
• Foreign franchising. A specialized type of foreign licensing in which a firm expands by offering businesses in other countries the right to produce and market its products according to specific operating requirements.
• Foreign licensing. Authority granted by a domestic firm to a foreign firm for the rights to produce and market its product or to use its trademark/patent rights in a defined geographical area.
• Foreign outsourcing (also contract manufacturing). Contracting with foreign suppliers to produce products, usually at a fraction of the cost of domestic production.
• Franchise. A licensing arrangement under which a franchisor allows franchisees to use its name, trademark, products, business methods, and other property in exchange for monetary payments and other considerations.
• Franchise agreement. The contractual arrangement between a franchisor and franchisee that spells out the duties and responsibilities of both parties.
• Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). A detailed description of all aspects of a franchise that the franchisor must provide to the franchisee at least 14 calendar days before the franchise agreement is signed.
• Franchisee. The party in a franchise relationship that pays for the right to use resources supplied by the franchisor.
• Franchisor. The business entity in a franchise relationship that allows others to operate its business using resources it supplies in exchange for money and other considerations.
• Free trade. The unrestricted movement of goods and services across international borders.
• Free-rein leaders. Leaders who set objectives for their followers but give them freedom to choose how they will accomplish those goals.
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). An international trade treaty designed to encourage worldwide trade among its members.
• General partnership. A partnership in which all partners can take an active role in managing the business and have unlimited liability for any claims against the firm.
• Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A set of accounting standards that is used in the preparation of financial statements.
• Geographic segmentation. Dividing the market into smaller groups based on where consumers live. This process can incorporate countries, cities, or population density as key factors.
• Goods. Tangible products.
• Grace period. The period of time that the credit card holder has to pay outstanding balances before interest or fees are assessed.
• Green marketing. Developing and promoting environmentally sound products and practices to gain a competitive edge.
• Grievance. A complaint by a worker that the employer has violated the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
• Gross domestic product (GDP). The total value of all final goods and services produced within a nation's physical boundaries over a given period of time.
• Hacker. A skilled computer user who uses his or her expertise to gain unauthorized access to the computer (or computer system) of others, sometimes with malicious intent.
• Hardware. The physical tools and equipment used to collect, input, store, organize, and process data and to distribute information.
• High/low pricing. A pricing strategy designed to drive traffic to retail stores by special sales on a limited number of products, and higher everyday prices on others.
• Horizontal analysis. Analysis of financial statements that compares account values reported on these statements over two or more years to identify changes and trends.
• Horizontal merger. A combination of two firms that are in the same industry.
• Human resource management (HR management). The management function focused on maximizing the effectiveness of the workforce by recruiting world-class talent, promoting career development, and determining workforce strategies to boost organizational effectiveness.
• Human skills. The ability to work effectively with and through other people in a range of different relationships.
• Hyperinflation. An average monthly inflation rate of more than 50%.
• Immediate predecessors. Activities in a project that must be completed before some other specified activity can begin.
• Implicit cost. The opportunity cost that arises when a firm uses owner-supplied resources.
• Importing. Buying products domestically that have been produced or grown in foreign nations.
• Income statement. The financial statement that reports the revenues, expenses, and net income that resulted from a firm's operations over an accounting period.
• Independent wholesaling businesses. Independent distributors that buy products from a range of different businesses and sell those products to a range of different customers.
• Indirect costs. Costs that are the result of a firm's general operations and are not directly tied to any specific cost object.
• Industrial union. A union comprising workers employed in the same industry.
• Inflation. A period of rising average prices across the economy.
• Information. Data that have been processed in a way that make them meaningful to their user.
• Infrastructure. A country's physical facilities that support economic activity.
• Initial public offering (IPO). The first time a company issues stock that may be bought by the general public.
• Institutional investor. An organization that pools contributions from investors, clients, or depositors and uses these funds to buy stocks and other securities.
• Integrated marketing communication. The coordination of marketing messages through every promotional vehicle to communicate a unified impression about a product.
• Intellectual property. Property that is the result of creative or intellectual effort, such as books, musical works, inventions, and computer software.
• Intercultural communication. Communication among people with differing cultural backgrounds.
• Interest-based bargaining. A form of collective bargaining that emphasizes cooperation and problem solving in an attempt to find a "win–win" outcome.
• Internal locus of control. A deep-seated sense that the individual is personally responsible for what happens in his or her life.
• Internal recruitment. The process of seeking employees who are currently within the firm to fill open positions.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF). An international organization of 188 member nations that promotes international economic cooperation and stable growth.
• Internet. The world's largest computer network; essentially a network of computer networks all operating under a common set of rules that allow them to communicate with each other.
• Internet2 (I2). A new high-tech Internet with access limited to a consortium of member organizations (and other organizations these members sponsor). I2 utilizes technologies that give it a speed and capacity far exceeding the current Internet.
• Intranet. A private network that has the look and feel of the Internet and is navigated using a web browser, but which limits access to a single firm's employees (or a single organization's members).
• Inventory. Stocks of goods or other items held by organizations.
• Investing. Reducing consumption in the current time period in order to build future wealth.
• Investment bank. A financial intermediary that specializes in helping firms raise financial capital by issuing securities in primary markets.
• IRA. An individual retirement account that provides tax benefits to individuals who are investing for their retirement.
• ISO 14000. A family of generic standards for environmental management established by the International Organization for Standardization.
• ISO 9000. A family of generic standards for quality management systems established by the International Organization for Standardization.
• Job analysis. The examination of specific tasks that are assigned to each position, independent of who might be holding the job at any specific time.
• Job description. An explanation of the responsibilities for a specific position.
• Job enrichment. The creation of jobs with more meaningful content, under the assumption that challenging, creative work will motivate employees.
• Job specifications. The specific qualifications necessary to hold a particular position.
• Joint ventures. When two or more companies join forces -- sharing resources, risks, and profits, but not actually merging companies -- to pursue specific opportunities.
• Just-in-time production (JIT production). A production system that emphasizes the production of goods to meet actual current demand, thus minimizing the need to hold inventories of finished goods and work in process at each stage of the supply chain.
• Labor union. A group of workers who have organized to work together to achieve common jobrelated goals, such as higher wages, better working conditions, and greater job security.
• Labor–Management Relations Act (Taft–Hartley Act). Law passed in 1947 that placed limits on union activities, outlawed the closed shop, and allowed states to pass right-to-work laws that made union shops illegal.
• Laws. Rules that govern the conduct and actions of people within a society that are enforced by the government.
• Leading. Directing and motivating people to achieve organizational goals.
• Lean production. An approach to production that emphasizes the elimination of waste in all aspects of production processes.
• Leverage ratios. Ratios that measure the extent to which a firm relies on debt financing in its capital structure.
• Liabilities. Claims that outsiders have against a firm's assets.
• Licensing. Purchasing the right to use another company's brand name or symbol.
• Limit order. An order to a broker to buy a specific stock only if its price is below a certain level, or to sell a specific stock only if its price is above a certain level.
• Limited liability. When owners are not personally liable for claims against their firm. Owners with limited liability may lose their investment in the company, but their other personal assets are protected.
• Limited liability company (LLC). A form of business ownership that offers both limited liability to its owners and flexible tax treatment.
• Limited liability partnership (LLP). A form of partnership in which all partners have the right to participate in management and have limited liability for company debts.
• Limited partnership. A partnership that includes at least one general partner who actively manages the company and accepts unlimited liability and one limited partner who gives up the right to actively manage the company in exchange for limited liability.
• Line-and-staff organizations. Organizations with line managers forming the primary chain of authority in the company, and staff departments working alongside line departments.
• Line extensions. Similar products offered under the same brand name.
• Line managers. Managers who supervise the functions that contribute directly to profitability: production and marketing.
• Line of credit. A financial arrangement between a firm and a bank in which the bank pre-approves credit up to a specified limit, provided that the firm maintains an acceptable credit rating.
• Line organizations. Organizations with a clear, simple chain of command from top to bottom.
• Liquid asset. An asset that can quickly be converted into cash with little risk of loss.
• Liquidity ratios. Financial ratios that measure the ability of a firm to obtain the cash it needs to pay its short-term debt obligations as they come due.
• Lockout. An employer-initiated work stoppage.
• Logistics. A subset of supply chain management that focuses largely on the tactics involved in moving products along the supply chain.
• Loss. When a business incurs expenses that are greater than its revenue.
• Loss-leader pricing. Closely related to high/low pricing, lossleader pricing means pricing a handful of items -- or loss leaders -- temporarily below cost to drive traffic.
• M1 money supply. Includes all currency plus checking accounts and traveler's checks.
• M2 money supply. Includes all of M1 money supply plus most savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.
• Macroeconomics. The study of a country's overall economic dynamics, such as the employment rate, the gross domestic product, and taxation policies.
• Malware. A general term for malicious software, such as spyware, computer viruses, and worms.
• Management. Achieving the goals of an organization through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources including people, money, and time.
• Management development. Programs to help current and potential executives develop the skills they need to move into leadership positions.
• Managerial accounting (or management accounting). The branch of accounting that provides reports and analysis to managers to help them make informed business decisions.
• Market makers. Securities dealers that make a commitment to continuously offer to buy and sell the stock of a specific corporation listed on the NASDAQ exchange or traded in the OTC market.
• Market niche. A small segment of a market with fewer competitors than the market as a whole. Market niches tend to be quite attractive to small firms.
• Market order. An order telling a broker to buy or sell a specific security at the best currently available price.
• Market segmentation. Dividing potential customers into groups of similar people, or segments.
• Market share. The percentage of a market controlled by a given marketer.
• Marketing. An organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
• Marketing concept. A business philosophy that makes customer satisfaction -- now and in the future -- the central focus of the entire organization.
• Marketing mix. The blend of marketing strategies for product, price, distribution, and promotion.
• Marketing plan. A formal document that defines marketing objectives and the specific strategies for achieving those objectives.
• Marketing research. The process of gathering, interpreting, and applying information to uncover marketing opportunities and challenges, and to make better marketing decisions.
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. A motivation theory that suggests that human needs fall into a hierarchy and that as each need is met, people become motivated to meet the next-highest need in the pyramid.
• Mass customization. The creation of products tailored for individual consumers on a mass basis.
• Master budget. A presentation of an organization's operational and financial budgets that represents the firm's overall plan of action for a specified time period.
• Matrix organizations. Organizations with a flexible structure that brings together specialists from different areas of the company to work on individual projects on a temporary basis.
• Maturity date. The date when a bond will come due.
• Mediation. A method of dealing with an impasse between labor and management by bringing in a neutral third party to help the two sides reach agreement by reducing tensions and making suggestions for possible compromises.
• Merchant wholesalers. Independent distributors who take legal possession, or title, of the goods they distribute.
• Merger. A corporate restructuring that occurs when two formerly independent business entities combine to form a new organization.
• Microeconomics. The study of smaller economic units such as individual consumers, families, and individual businesses.
• Middle management. Managers who supervise lower-level managers and report to a higher-level manager.
• Mission. The definition of an organization's purpose, values, and core goals, which provides the framework for all other plans.
• Mixed economies. Economies that embody elements of both planned and market-based economic systems.
• Modes of transportation. The various transportation options -- such as planes, trains, and railroads -- for moving products through the supply chain.
• Monetary policy. Federal Reserve decisions that shape the economy by influencing interest rates and the supply of money.
• Money. Anything generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment.
• Money market mutual funds. A mutual fund that pools funds from many investors and uses these funds to purchase very safe, highly liquid securities.
• Money supply. The total amount of money within the overall economy.
• Monopolistic competition. A market structure with many competitors selling differentiated products. Barriers to entry are low.
• Monopoly. A market structure with one producer completely dominating the industry, leaving no room for any significant competitors. Barriers to entry tend to be virtually insurmountable.
• Multichannel retailing. Providing multiple distribution channels for consumers to buy a product.
• Multilevel marketing (MLM). Involves hiring independent contractors to sell products to their personal network of friends and colleagues and to recruit new salespeople in return for a percentage of their commissions.
• Mutual fund. An institutional investor that raises funds by selling shares to investors and uses the accumulated funds to buy a portfolio of many different securities.
• National brands. Brands that the producer owns and markets.
• National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act). Landmark pro-labor law enacted in 1935. This law made it illegal for firms to discriminate against union members and required employers to recognize certified unions and bargain with them in good faith.
• Natural monopoly. A market structure with one company as the supplier of a product because the nature of that product makes a single supplier more efficient than multiple, competing ones. Most natural monopolies are government sanctioned and regulated.
• Negligence. An unintentional tort that arises due to carelessness or irresponsible behavior.
• Net asset value per share. The value of a mutual fund's securities and cash holdings minus any liabilities, divided by the number of shares of the fund outstanding.
• Net income. The difference between the revenue a firm earns and the expenses it incurs in a given time period.
• Net present value (NPV). The sum of the present values of expected future cash flows from an investment, minus the cost of that investment.
• Noise. Any interference that causes the message you send to be different from the message your audience understands.
• Nondiscretionary payments. Expenditures that the spender has little or no control over.
• Nonprofit corporation. A corporation that does not seek to earn a profit and differs in several fundamental respects from C corporations.
• Nonprofits. Business-like establishments that employ people and produce goods and services with the fundamental goal of contributing to the community rather than generating financial gain.
• Nonverbal communication. Communication that does not use words. Common forms of nonverbal communication include gestures, posture, facial expressions, tone of voice, and eye contact.
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The treaty among the United States, Mexico, and Canada that eliminated trade barriers and investment restrictions over a 15-year period starting in 1994.
• Observation research. Marketing research that does not require the researcher to interact with the research subject.
• Odd pricing. The practice of ending prices in numbers below even dollars and cents in order to create a perception of greater value.
• Offshoring. Moving production or support processes to foreign countries.
• Oligopoly. A market structure with only a handful of competitors selling products that can be similar or different. Barriers to entry are typically high.
• On-the-job training. A training approach that requires employees to simply begin their jobs -- sometimes guided by more experienced employees -- and to learn as they go.
• Open market operations. The Federal Reserve function of buying and selling government securities, which include treasury bonds, notes, and bills.
• Open shop. An employment arrangement in which workers are not required to join a union or pay union dues.
• Operating budgets. Budgets that communicate an organization's sales and production goals and the resources needed to achieve these goals.
• Operational planning. Very specific, short-term planning that applies tactical plans to daily, weekly, and monthly operations.
• Operations management. Managing all of the activities involved in creating value by producing goods and services and distributing them to customers.
• Opportunity cost. The opportunity of giving up the second-best choice when making a decision.
• Organization chart. A visual representation of the company's formal structure.
• Organizing. Determining a structure for both individual jobs and the overall organization.
• Orientation. The first step in the training and development process, designed to introduce employees to the company culture and provide key administrative information.
• Out-of-pocket cost. A cost that involves the payment of money or other resources.
• Outsourcing. Arranging for other organizations to perform supply chain functions that were previously performed internally.
• Over-the-counter market (OTC market). The market where securities that are not listed on exchanges are traded.
• Owners' equity. The claims a firm's owners have against their company's assets (often called "stockholders' equity" on balance sheets of corporations).
• Par value (of a bond). The value of a bond at its maturity; what the issuer promises to pay the bondholder when the bond matures.
• Partnership. A voluntary agreement under which two or more people act as co-owners of a business for profit.
• Passive voice. Sentence construction in which the subject does not do the action expressed by the verb; rather, the subject is acted upon (e.g., The taxes were done by our accountant.). The passive voice tends to be less effective for business communication.
• Patent. A legal monopoly that gives an inventor the exclusive right over an invention for a limited time period.
• Penetration pricing. A new product pricing strategy that aims to capture as much of the market as possible through rock-bottom prices.
• Performance appraisal. A formal feedback process that requires managers to give their subordinates feedback on a one-to-one basis, typically by comparing actual results to expected results.
• Personal selling. The person-to-person presentation of products to potential buyers.
• Pharming. A scam that seeks to steal identities by routing Internet traffic to fake websites.
• Phishing. A scam in which of official-looking emails are sent to individuals in an attempt to get them to divulge private information such as passwords, usernames, and account numbers.
• Physical distribution. The actual, physical movement of products along the distribution pathway.
• Picketing. A union tactic during labor disputes in which union members walk near the entrance of the employer's place of business, carrying signs to publicize their position and concerns.
• Planned obsolescence. The strategy of deliberately designing products to fail in order to shorten the time between purchases.
• Planning. Determining organizational goals and action plans for how to achieve those goals.
• Poka-yokes. Simple methods incorporated into a production process designed to eliminate or greatly reduce errors.
• Positioning statement. A brief statement that articulates how the marketer would like the target market to envision a product relative to the competition.
• Preferred stock. A type of stock that gives its holder preference over common stockholders in terms of dividends and claims on assets.
• Present value. The amount of money that, if invested today at a given rate of interest (called the discount rate), would grow to become some future amount in a specified number of time periods.
• Primary data. New data that marketers compile for a specific research project.
• Primary securities market. The market where newly issued securities are traded. The primary market is where the firms that issue securities raise additional financial capital.
• Principal. A party who agrees to have someone else (called an agent) act on his or her behalf.
• Principal–agent relationship. A relationship in which one party, called the principal, gives another party, called the agent, the authority to act in place of, and bind, the principal when dealing with third parties.
• Private placement. A primary market issue that is negotiated between the issuing corporation and a small group of accredited investors.
• Privatization. The process of converting governmentowned businesses to private ownership.
• Probationary period. A specific time frame (typically three to six months) during which a new hire can prove his or her worth on the job before he or she becomes permanent.
• Process. A set of related activities that transform inputs into outputs, thus adding value.
• Producer price index (PPI). A measure of inflation that evaluates the change over time in the weighted-average wholesale prices.
• Product. Anything that an organization offers to satisfy consumer needs and wants, including both goods and services.
• Product consistency. How reliably a product delivers its promised level of quality.
• Product differentiation. The attributes that make a good or service different from other products that compete to meet the same or similar customer needs.
• Product features. The specific characteristics of a product.
• Product life cycle. A pattern of sales and profits that typically changes over time.
• Product line. A group of products that are closely related to each other, either in terms of how they work, or the customers they serve.
• Product mix. The total number of product lines and individual items sold by a single firm.
• Product placement. The paid integration of branded products into movies, television, and other media.
• Productivity. The basic relationship between the production of goods and services (output) and the resources needed to produce them (input) calculated via the following equation: output/ input 5 productivity.
• Profit. The money that a business earns in sales (or revenue), minus expenses, such as the cost of goods, and the cost of salaries. Revenue - Expenses = Profit (or Loss).
• Profit margin. The gap between the cost and the price of an item on a per-product basis.
• Profitability ratios. Ratios that measure the rate of return a firm is earning on various measures of investment.
• Promotion. Marketing communication designed to influence consumer purchase decisions through information, persuasion, and reminders.
• Promotional channels. Specific marketing communication vehicles, including traditional tools, such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and personal selling, and newer tools such as product placement, advergaming, and Internet minimovies.
• Property. The legal right of an owner to exclude nonowners from having control over a particular resource.
• Protectionism. National policies designed to restrict international trade, usually with the goal of protecting domestic businesses.
• Psychographic segmentation. Dividing the market into smaller groups based on consumer attitudes, interests, values, and lifestyles.
• Public offering. A primary market issue in which new securities are offered to any investors who are willing and able to purchase them.
• Public relations (PR). The ongoing effort to create positive relationships with all of a firm's different "publics," including customers, employees, suppliers, the community, the general public, and the government.
• Publicity. Unpaid stories in the media that influence perceptions about a company or its products.
• Pull strategy. A marketing approach that involves creating demand from the ultimate consumers so that they "pull" your products through the distribution channels by actively seeking them.
• Pure competition. A market structure with many competitors selling virtually identical products. Barriers to entry are quite low.
• Pure goods. Products that do not include any services.
• Pure services. Products that do not include any goods.
• Push strategy. A marketing approach that involves motivating distributors to heavily promote -- or "push" -- a product to the final consumers, usually through heavy trade promotion and personal selling.
• Quality level. How well a product performs its core functions.
• Quality of life. The overall sense of well-being experienced by either an individual or a group.
• Quotas. Limitations on the amount of specific products that may be imported from certain countries during a given time period.
• Radio frequency identification (RFID). A technology that stores information on small microchips that can transmit the information when they are within range of a special reader.
• Recession. An economic downturn marked by a decrease in the GDP for two consecutive quarters.
• Recovery. A period of rising economic growth and employment.
• Registration statement. A long, complex document that firms must file with the SEC when they sell securities through a public offering.
• Reserve requirement. A rule set by the Fed, which specifies the minimum amount of reserves (or funds) a bank must hold, expressed as a percentage of the bank's deposits.
• Retailers. Distributors that sell products directly to the ultimate users, typically in small quantities, that are stored and merchandized on the premises.
• Retained earnings. The part of a firm's net income it reinvests.
• Revenue. Increases in a firm's assets that result from the sale of goods, provision of services, or other activities intended to earn income.
• Revolving credit agreement. A guaranteed line of credit in which a bank makes a binding commitment to provide a business with funds up to a specified credit limit at any time during the term of the agreement.
• Right-to-work law. A state law that makes union shops illegal within that state's borders.
• Risk. The degree of uncertainty regarding the outcome of a decision.
• Risk-return tradeoff. The observation that financial opportunities that offer high rates of return are generally riskier than opportunities that offer lower rates of return.
• Robot. A reprogrammable machine that is capable of manipulating materials, tools, parts, and specialized devices in order to perform a variety of tasks.
• S corporation. A form of corporation that avoids double taxation by having its income taxed as if it were a partnership.
• Salaries. The pay that employees receive over a fixed period, most often weekly or monthly.
• Sale. A transaction in which the title (legal ownership) to a good passes from one party to another in exchange for a price.
• Sales promotion. Marketing activities designed to stimulate immediate sales activity through specific short-term programs aimed at either consumers or distributors.
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Federal legislation passed in 2002 that sets higher ethical standards for public corporations and accounting firms. Key provisions limit conflict-of-interest issues and require financial officers and CEOs to certify the validity of their financial statements.
• Savings account. An interest-bearing account holding funds not needed to meet regular expenditures.
• Savings and loan association. A depository institution that has traditionally obtained most of its funds by accepting savings deposits, which have been used primarily to make mortgage loans.
• Scope of authority (for an agent). The extent to which an agent has the authority to act for and represent the principal.
• SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). An organization -- affiliated with the Small Business Administration -- that provides free, comprehensive business counseling for small business owners from qualified volunteers.
• Secondary data. Existing data that marketers gather or purchase for a research project.
• Secondary securities market. The market where previously issued securities are traded.
• Securities Act of 1933. The first major federal law regulating the securities industry. It requires firms issuing new stock in a public offering to file a registration statement with the SEC.
• Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. A federal law dealing with securities regulation that established the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate and oversee the securities industry.
• Securities and Exchange Commission. The federal agency with primary responsibility for regulating the securities industry.
• Securities broker. A financial intermediary that acts as an agent for investors who want to buy and sell financial securities. Brokers earn commissions and fees for the services they provide.
• Securities dealer. A financial intermediary that participates directly in securities markets, buying and selling stocks and other securities for its own account.
• Services. Intangible products.
• Servicescape. The environment in which a customer and service provider interact.
• Sexual harassment. Workplace discrimination against a person based on his or her gender.
• Six Sigma. An approach to quality improvement characterized by very ambitious quality goals, extensive training of employees, and a longterm commitment to working on qualityrelated issues.
• Skimming pricing. A new product pricing strategy that aims to maximize profitability by offering new products at a premium price.
• Small Business Administration (SBA). An agency of the federal government designed to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses.
• Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). Local offices -- affiliated with the Small Business Administration -- that provide comprehensive management assistance to current and prospective small business owners.
• Social audit. A systematic evaluation of how well a firm is meeting its ethics and social responsibility goals.
• Social responsibility. The obligation of a business to contribute to society.
• Socialism. An economic system based on the principle that the government should own and operate key enterprises that directly affect public welfare.
• Sociocultural differences. Differences among cultures in language, attitudes, and values.
• Software. Programs that provide instructions to a computer so that it can perform a desired task.
• Sole proprietorship. A form of business ownership with a single owner who usually actively manages the company.
• Spam. Unsolicited email advertisements usually sent to very large numbers of recipients, many of whom may have no interest in the message.
• Span of control. Span of management; refers to the number of people a manager supervises.
• Specific performance. A remedy for breach of contract in which the court orders the party committing the breach to do exactly what the contract specifies.
• Speed-to-market. The rate at which a new product moves from conception to commercialization.
• Sponsorship. A deep association between a marketer and a partner (usually a cultural or sporting event), which involves promotion of the sponsor in exchange for either payment or the provision of goods.
• Spontaneous financing. Financing that arises during the natural course of business without the need for special arrangements.
• Spyware. Software that is installed on a computer without the user's knowledge or permission to track the user's behavior.
• Staff managers. Managers who supervise the functions that provide advice and assistance to the line departments.
• Stakeholders. Any groups that have a stake -- or a personal interest -- in the performance and actions of an organization.
• Standard & Poor's 500. A stock index based on prices of 500 major U.S. corporations in a variety of industries and market sectors.
• Standard of living. The quality and quantity of goods and services available to a population.
• Statement of cash flows. The financial statement that identifies a firm's sources and uses of cash in a given accounting period.
• Statute of frauds. A requirement that certain types of contracts must be in writing in order to be enforceable.
• Statute of limitations. The time period within which a legal action must be initiated.
• Statutory close corporation (or closed corporation). A corporation with a limited number of owners that operates under simpler, less formal rules than a C corporation.
• Statutory law. Law that is the result of legislative action.
• Stock exchange (or securities exchange). An organized venue for trading stocks and other securities that meet its listing requirements.
• Stock index. A statistic that tracks how the prices of a specific set of stocks have changed.
• Stockholder. An owner of a corporation.
• Store brands. Brands that the retailer both produces and distributes (also called private-label brands).
• Strategic alliance. An agreement between two or more firms to jointly pursue a specific opportunity without actually merging their businesses. Strategic alliances typically involve less formal, less encompassing agreements than partnerships.
• Strategic goals. Concrete benchmarks that managers can use to measure performance in each key area of the organization.
• Strategic planning. High-level, long-term planning that establishes a vision for the company, defines longterm objectives and priorities, determines broad action steps, and allocates resources.
• Strategies. Action plans that help the organization achieve its goals by forging the best fit between the firm and the environment.
• Strike. A work stoppage initiated by a union.
• Structured interviews. An interviewing approach that involves developing a list of questions beforehand and asking the same questions in the same order to each candidate.
• Supply. The quantity of products that producers are willing to offer for sale at different market prices.
• Supply chain. All organizations, processes, and activities involved in the flow of goods from the raw materials to the final consumer.
• Supply chain management (SCM). Planning and coordinating the movement of products along the supply chain, from the raw materials to the final consumers.
• Supply curve. The graphed relationship between price and quantity from a supplier standpoint.
• Survey research. Marketing research that requires the researcher to interact with the research subject.
• Sustainable development. Doing business to meet the needs of the current generation, without harming the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
• SWOT analysis. A strategic planning tool that helps management evaluate an organization in terms of internal strengths and weakness, and external opportunities and threats.
• System software. Software that performs the critical functions necessary to operate the computer at the most basic level.
• Tactical planning. More specific, shorter-term planning that applies strategic plans to specific functional areas.
• Target market. The group of people who are most likely to buy a particular product.
• Tariffs. Taxes levied against imports.
• Technical skills. Expertise in a specific functional area or department.
• Telecommuting. Working remotely -- most often from home -- and connecting to the office via phone lines and/or broadband networks.
• Theory X and Theory Y. A motivation theory that suggests that management attitudes toward workers fall into two opposing categories based on management assumptions about worker capabilities and values.
• Time value of money. The principle that a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received in the future.
• Title. Legal ownership.
• Title VII. A portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, apprenticeships, training, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin for employers with 15 or more workers.
• Top management. Managers who set the overall direction of the firm, articulating a vision, establishing priorities, and allocating time, money, and other resources.
• Tort. A private wrong that results in physical or mental harm to an individual, or damage to that person's property.
• Total quality management (TQM). An approach to quality improvement that calls for everyone within an organization to take responsibility for improving quality and emphasizes the need for a long-term commitment to continuous improvement.
• Trade credit. Spontaneous financing granted by sellers when they deliver goods and services to customers without requiring immediate payment.
• Trade deficit. Shortfall that occurs when the total value of a nation's imports is higher than the total value of its exports.
• Trade promotion. Marketing activities designed to stimulate wholesalers and retailers to push specific products more aggressively over the short term.
• Trade surplus. Overage that occurs when the total value of a nation's exports is higher than the total value of its imports.
• Trademark. A mark, symbol, word, phrase, or motto used to identify a company's goods.
• Trading bloc. A group of countries that have reduced or even eliminated tariffs, allowing for the free flow of goods among the member nations.
• U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills). Short-term marketable IOUs issued by the U.S. federal government.
• Underwriting. An arrangement under which an investment banker agrees to purchase all shares of a public offering at an agreed-upon price.
• Unemployment rate. The percentage of people in the labor force over age 16 who do not have jobs and are actively seeking employment.
• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). A uniform act governing the sale of goods, leases, warranties, transfer of funds, and a variety of other business-related activities.
• Union shop. An employment arrangement in which a firm can hire nonunion workers, but these workers must join the union within a specified time period to keep their jobs.
• Universal ethical standards. Ethical norms that apply to all people across a broad spectrum of situations.
• Utility. The ability of goods and services to satisfy consumer "wants."
• Value. The relationship between the price of a good or a service and the benefits that it offers its customers.
• Value chain. The network of relationships that channels the flow of inputs, information, and financial resources through all of the processes directly or indirectly involved in producing goods and services and distributing them to customers.
• Variable costs. Costs that vary directly with the level of production.
• Venture capital firms. Companies that invest in start-up businesses with high growth potential in exchange for a share of ownership.
• Vertical integration. Performance of processes internally that were previously performed by other organizations in a supply chain.
• Vertical merger. A combination of firms at different stages in the production of a good or service.
• Vesting period. A specified period of time for which an employee must work for an employer in order to receive the full advantage of certain retirement benefits.
• Viral marketing. An Internet marketing strategy that tries to involve customers and others not employed by the seller in activities that help promote the product.
• Voluntary export restraints (VERs). Limitations on the amount of specific products that one nation will export to another nation.
• Wages. The pay that employees receive in exchange for the number of hours or days that they work.
• Web 2.0. Websites that incorporate interactive and collaborative features to create a richer, more interesting, and more useful experience for their users.
• Wheel of retailing. A classic distribution theory that suggests that retail firms and retail categories become more upscale as they go through their life cycles.
• Whistle-blowers. Employees who report their employer's illegal or unethical behavior to either the authorities or the media.
• Wholesalers. Distributors that buy products from producers and sell them to other businesses or nonfinal users such as hospitals, nonprofits, and the government.
• World Bank. An international cooperative of 188 member countries, working together to reduce poverty in the developing world.
• World Trade Organization (WTO). A permanent global institution to promote international trade and to settle international trade disputes.
• World Wide Web. The service that allows computer users to easily access and share information on the Internet in the form of text, graphics, video, apps, and animation.
• Worm. Malicious computer software that, unlike viruses, can spread on its own without being attached to other files.