Business Management & strategy Flashcards
Name the external business environment factors
Technological developments Industry changes Economic environment Labor pool Legal and regulatory activity
What is a sole proprietorship?
Most basic and easy to organize business structure. The owner (1 person) is the final authority for all decisions. Any profits earned go to owner and the owner. Has unlimited personal liability for all decisions and activities.
What is a partnership?
A basic business structure defined by having two or more people who own and share final authority on all business decisions and are jointly liable for the actions of the business. Partners are liable for their own actions as well as the actions of the other partners. Profits are split according to the ownership shares established at the beginning.
What types of partnership exist?
General partnership (GP) partners share responsibility Limited Partnership(LP) or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) most partners are only involved as investors and have little operational input. Joint Venture (JV) formed to manage a specific project for a limited time Corporation Limited Liability company- cross between general partnership and corporation. Provides liability protection to owners. Exists for finite period of time but can be extended by owner vote. May only have 2/4 characteristics of corporation
What are the 4 characteristics of a corporation?
Liability is limited to assets owned by company
Life of the corp can be extended beyond life of original owner/founder
Central management structure
Ownership may be transferred freely by selling stock
What is strategic management?
The ongoing process of innovation, advantage, value creation, and reassessment.
What is a limited liability company?
It is a cross between a corporation and provides its owners with the liability of a corporation with fewer operating restrictions. For a finite period of time defined when it’s organized which can be extended by a vote of owners/members when it expires. 2/4 characteristics of a corporation.
What three things must be considered by professionals in developing plans and programs?
Structures, functions and life cycles.
What is production?
The process by which businesses create product or service they offer to customers.
What are operations?
all the activities necessary to produce the goods or services of the business.
What is capacity?
How much of a product/ service can be produced with the available materials, labor, and equipment (inputs) as well as what changes in inputs are required by fluctuating customer demands.
What is production layout?
The way I which goods and services will be produced.
What is scheduling?
Ensure that products or services are available at times of peak customer demand.
What is quality management?
Ensuring that the product or service meets quality standards. (QA)
What is inventory management?
Balancing the cost of maintaining a large inventory and the need to satisfy customers by filling orders promptly.
What is just in time inventory management?
Attempting to do this by purchasing smaller amounts of supplies more frequently to reduce inventory and ensure a steady supply of products for distribution.
What is the sales function responsible for?
Involves the near term activities involved in transferring the product or service from the business to the customer.
What is marketing?
Incorporates longer term functions necessary to promote and distribute products in the marketplace, provides support for the sales staff, conducts research to design products that customers will be interested in purchasing, and determines the appropriate pricing.
What are the 4 P’s of marketing?
Product, Price, Placement, Promotions
What is finance?
Responsible for obtaining credit to meet the orgs needs, granting credit to customers, investing and managing cash for maximizing return on investment (ROI) and establishing banking relationships
What is accounting?
Responsible for activity that records financial transactions within org.
What is cost accounting?
Transactions related to product sales and the cost related to creating the product
What is the financial standards accounting board?
Created in 1972, an independent body, was created by AICPA to take over responsibility for setting accounting standards.
What is the securities exchange Act of 1934?
Congressional act that gave statutory authority for establishing reporting standards for publicly held companies to the Securities and Exchange commission (SEC)
What two bodies are associated with international accounting?
International accounting standards board (IASB) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS)
What 4 factors contribute to an engaged workforce?
1) identify the best fit for employees
2) concentrate on individual employee strengths
3) clearly establish desired results
4) look for talent as well as knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) when selecting employees
What is emotional intelligence?
The ability for managers to create personal connections with those they supervise.
What are the three themes of employee engagement?
Leadership
Professional development
Employee Recognition
What are the steps of the employee lifecycle?
Startup
Growth
Maturity
Decline
What is strategy?
Organizational goals and methods to be used in achieving those goals – strategic planning and strategic management.
What is human capital management? (HCMP)
A developed tactical goal and action plans designed to meet the needs of the org
What are the main questions of a strategic plan?
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be?
How will we get there?
How will we know when we arrive?
What is human capital projecting?
A budgetary activity in which HR attempts to measure the value of these resources. (Human resources)
What items do human projecting account for?
The necessary skill set of workforce to achieve short term and long-term goals as communicated through strategic plan
Current skill set of workforce, measured through performance management system
Creation of plan to address deficiencies
Decision to build or buy/develop talent in-house or hire from the external labor force
the cost of implementation
Return on investment in HR
