Biz-School Courses Focus On Giving Back

Question 1

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT

Answer 1

-An investment that is considered socially responsible because of the nature of business the company conducts.

Question 2

MUTUAL FUND

Answer 2

• Investment vehicle made up of a pool of moneys collected from many investors for purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and other instruments.
• Operated by professional money managers who allocate the fund’s investments and attempt to produce capital gains and/or income from the fund’s investors
• A mutual fund’s portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.

Question 3

NONPROFIT

Answer 3

• Nonprofit organization is a business granted tax-exempt status by the IRS
• Donations made to a nonprofit organization are typically tax deductible to individuals or businesses that make them, but nonprofits must make financial and operating information public so donors are certain their contributions have been used effectively.
• Nonprofits pay no income tax on donations they receive or any money they earn through funding activities.
• Sometimes called NPOs or 501(c)(3) organizations based on section of tax code that permits them to operate.
• To receive “nonprofit” designation and to qualify for tax-exempt status, it must further scientific, religious, charitable, educational, literary, public safety, or cruelty prevention cause or purposes and generate public benefit.
• Must serve the public in some way, through offering of goods, services, or combo.
• The type of nonprofit an individual works for makes a significant difference in pay scale [$$ hospitals, universities, national charities, churches, foundations]

Nonprofit vs Not-for-profit:
-NFPO-widely based term that encompasses all organizations that are known specifically as nonprofits, charities, non-governmental orgs (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs) and private voluntary organizations (PVOs)

• Nonprofits make a profit time-to-time, but they use the profit to further operations of organization itself and ultimately to facilitate provision of benefit to public at large.
• Distinction between semantics of nonprofit and not-for-profit: A not-for-profit is an activity that is not intended to generate any profits, such as taking pictures for personal use; while “nonprofit” references an entire organization whose operations/products are not intended to generate a profit (org that offers free photography classes).

Question 4

SMALL ENTERPRISE, MIDSIZE ENTERPRISE

Answer 4

• Businesses that maintain revenues, assets, or a number of employees below a certain threshold.
• Every country and economic organization has its own definition of what is considered a small and medium enterprise.
• Tend to be strong in area of innovation.
• Struggle to attract capital to fund their endeavors; various national governments and world organizations advocate implementing business education programs and increasing SMEs access to loans and government incentives.
• Assets of 10m or less constitute a business as a small or midsize enterprise.

Question 5

TRANSACTION COSTS

Answer 5

-Expenses incurred when buying or selling a good or service.

Question 6

RETROFITTING

Answer 6

-Refers to addition of new technology or features to older systems.

Question 7

CARBON FOOTPRINT

Answer 7

-The amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person or group.

Question 8

COMPETITIVE/COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE

Answer 8

• Conditions that allow a company or country to produce a good or service at a lower price or in a more desirable fashion for customers.
• Attributed to a variety of factors (cost structure, brand, quality of product offerings, distribution network, intellectual property and customers support).
• The business which sacrifices less to make a profit.

Question 9

IMPACT INVESTMENT

Answer 9

• Financing social ventures.
• Investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.

Question 10

INVESTMENT FUND

Answer 10

-Supply of capital belongings to numerous investors used to collectively purchase securities while each investor retains ownership and control of his own shares.
-Investment fund provides a broader selection of investment opportunities, greater management expertise, and lower investment fees than investors might be able to obtain on their own.
(I.e. mutual funds, exchange traded funds, money market funds, hedge funds)

• Individual investors do not make decisions about how fund’s assets should be invested, they choose a fund based on its goals, fees, and other factors.
• Fund manager oversees fund and decides which securities it should hold, in what quantities, and when the securities should be bought and sold.
• Funds can be broad or tightly focused.
• Open-end (the fund issues new funds)
• Closed-end (issue fixed number of shares and trade on an exchange).

Question 11

EMERGING MARKET ECONOMY

Answer 11

• A nation’s economy that is progressing toward becoming advanced, as shown by some liquidity in local debt and equity markets and the existence of some form of market exchange and regulatory body.
• Emerging markets are not as advanced as developed countries, but maintain economies and infrastructures [banks, stock exchange, unified currency, open to outside investors] that are more advanced than frontier market countries.
• 80% of world’s population