AQA AS Key Term Glossary Flashcards
Autocratic
Management / leadership style whereby the manager makes all the decisions
Blake Mouton Grid
A model which examines a managers behaviour based on their concern for people and concern for production
Buffer Inventory
Minimum level of inventory required by a business
Capacity utilisation
The proportion of total capacity that is used (expressed as a %)
Competition
The businesses that compete for a share of a market
Competitiveness
The ability of a business to offer a better product than competitors (as measured by customers)
Delegation
Where responsibility for carrying out a task or role is passed onto someone else in the business
Demand
The amount of a product or service that customers are willing and able to pay for at a given time
Democratic
Management leadership style whereby the manager involves employees in the decision making process
Distribution channel
How a business gets its products to the end of the consumer (with or without the use of intermediaries)
Dividend
A payment that is made by a company to its shareholders from profit earned
Fixed costs
Costs that do not vary with the level of output
Hierarchy
The structure and number of layers of management and supervision in an organisation
Inventory control
The processes and controls used by a business to ensure that it has sufficient (but not too much) inventory for its purposes
Job design
The way in which tasks are combined to form a job
Just-in-time (JIT) production
A method of inventory control whereby inventory arrives just at the time that it is needed
Labour productivity
The output produced per employee over a given time period
Lean production
A method of production that aims to reduce waste
Limited liability
Shareholders are only liable for the money they have invested - not for the overall debts and liabilities of their company
Market capitalisation
Number of shares x the current share price of those shares on the stock market
Market growth
The % growth in size of the market, measured over a specific period
Market share
The share of the total market that is owned by a particular business, product or brand
Mass customisation
The ability to offer products designed for the individual on a large scale`
Opportunity cost
The cost of a decision as measured by the benefits foregone of the next best alternative
Organisational structure
The way that the roles and responsibilities within an organisation are structured
Private Limited Company (Ltd)
A business owned and controlled by shareholders whose shares cannot be publicly traded
Profitability
The ability of a business to generate profits from its activities
Public Limited Company (PLC)
A business whose shares can be traded and sold to the public
Quality
Where a product meets a customer’s requirements
Quality assurance
Organising every process to get the product ‘ right first time ‘ and prevent mistakes ever happening
Sole trader
A one-person business with unlimited liability for the debts of that business
Span of control
The number of employees who are directly supervised by a manager
Spare capacity
When a business is able to produce more with existing resources (also known as excess capacity)
Stakeholder
A person or group with an interest in a business
Tannenbaum & Schmidt Continuum
A model of leadership that examines the relationship between how much freedom a manager gives the workers and how much authority is retained
Total costs
The total of variable and fixed costs ina business
Unit costs
The average production cost per unit
Unlimited liability
Unlimited liability describes the potential risk that sole traders face. They are liable for the debts of the business
Variable costs
Costs that vary directly in proportion to output
Waste
A cost of production. Sub-standard completed output or raw materials which are not retained in the production process
