Chapter One - Large-Scale Organisations in Context

Question 0

Large-Scale Organisation

Answer 0

A large-scale organisation employs 200 or more people, earns revenue in the millions, or has assets of more than $200 million.

Question 1

Organisation

Answer 1

An organisation is two or more people working together to achieve an objective.

Question 2

Multinational Organistion

Answer 2

A multinational corporation is owned and based in one country and operates in many countries throughout the world.

Question 3

Board of Directors

Answer 3

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organisation.

Question 4

Managing Director

Answer 4

A managing director is someone who is responsible for the daily operations of a company, organisation, or corporate division.

Question 5

Human Resources

Answer 5

The development of strategies to meet the organisation’s future human resource needs.

Question 6

Marketing

Answer 6

The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

Question 7

Research and Development

Answer 7

Activities undertaken to improve existing products or create new products.

Question 8

Finance

Answer 8

The management of large amounts of money, especially by governments or large companies.

Question 9

Operations

Answer 9

Operations refers to the activities, decisions and responsibilities of managing the resources which are dedicated to the production and delivery of products and services.

Question 10

Corporation (or company)

Answer 10

An organisation owned by shareholders that aims to make a profit.

Question 11

Shareholder

Answer 11

Any person who owns shares in a company.

Question 12

Government Business Enterprise

Answer 12

An organisation that is government owned and operated.

Question 13

Government Department

Answer 13

Government departments exist on all three levels of government (federal, state and local). They provide essential community services, such as health, education and welfare.
E.g: The Department of Education, the Department of Employment and the Department of Social Services.

Question 14

Not-for-profit organisation

Answer 14

Not-for-profit organisations include charities and foundations. Their main purpose is to provide goods, services or funds to prevent particular social problems or to work for the benefit of the community.

Question 15

Objective

Answer 15

A desired goal, outcome or specific result that an organisation intends to achieve.

Question 16

Vision Statement

Answer 16

A written statement of what the organisation aspires to become in the future.

Question 17

Mission Statement

Answer 17

A statement expressing why an organisation exists, its purpose and how it will operate.

Question 18

Strategies

Answer 18

The actions that an organisation takes to achieve specific objectives.

Question 19

Economic Growth (as measured by GDP)

Answer 19

An increase in the amount of goods and services produced per head of the population over a period of time.

Question 20

Exports

Answer 20

A function of international trade whereby goods produced in one country are shipped to another country for future sale or trade. The sale of such goods adds to the producing nation’s gross output. If used for trade, exports are exchanged for other products or services.

Question 21

Imports

Answer 21

A good or service brought into one country from another. Along with exports, imports form the backbone of international trade. The higher the value of imports entering a country, compared to the value of exports, the more negative that country’s balance of trade becomes.

Question 22

Balance of Payments

Answer 22

A record of a country’s trade and financial transactions with the rest of the world.

Question 23

Invention

Answer 23

The development of something new.

Question 24

Innovation

Answer 24

A process that occurs when something already established is improved upon.

Question 25

Infrastructure

Answer 25

Highways, railways, airports, communication systems, education and health facilities, water, gas and electricity supplies.

Question 26

Downsizing.

Answer 26

Workplace staff reductions, with the elimination of jobs and positions.

Question 27

Outsourcing.

Answer 27

Contracting some organisational operations to outside suppliers.

Question 28

Internal environment

Answer 28

All those things over which the organisation has some degree of control.

Question 29

External environment

Answer 29

This includes those things over which the business has little control. It may be divided into an operating environment and a macro environment.

Question 30

Operating Environment

Answer 30

The outside factors with which the organisation interacts in the course of conducting its business.

Question 31

Customers

Answer 31

The buyers or users of the products of a large-scale organisation.

Question 32

Suppliers

Answer 32

Those organisations and individuals that supply resources to the organisation, allowing it to conduct its operations.

Question 33

Competitors

Answer 33

Other organisations that offer rival products or services.

Question 34

Lobby Groups

Answer 34

Groups of people who attempt to directly influence or persuade an organisation to adopt particular policies.

Question 35

Macro Environment

Answer 35

The broad factors in the economy and society within which the organisation operates.

Question 36

Globalisation

Answer 36

The effect of hi-tech communications, lower transport costs and unrestricted trade and financial flows turning the whole world into a single market, producing a more integrated global economic system.

Question 37

Effectiveness

Answer 37

The degree to which an organisation has achieved its stated objectives.

Question 38

Efficiency

Answer 38

A measure of how well an organisation uses resources to achieve objectives.

Question 39

Key Performance Indicators

Answer 39

Key performance indicators are measurements used to help a business define and measure progress towards achieving its objectives or critical success factors. They are quantifiable measures that can be expressed in either financial or non-financial terms and reflect the nature of your business.

Question 40

Profitability

Answer 40

The capacity to make a profit. A profit is what is left over from income earned after you have deducted all costs and expenses related to earning the income.

Question 41

Number of sales

Answer 41

The number of products sold.

Question 42

Percentage of market share

Answer 42

The proportion of the total market that a business has, expressed as a percentage.

Question 43

Rate of productivity growth

Answer 43

A measure of the change in productivity in one year compared to the previous year.

Question 44

Customer survey

Answer 44

A measure of how satisfied customers are with the organisation’s performance.

Question 45

Staff survey

Answer 45

A measure of how satisfied staff are within the organisation.

Question 46

Staff turnover.

Answer 46

A measure of the number of staff who are leaving the organisation.

Question 47

Customer complaints

Answer 47

An indication of whether or not customers are satisfied with the performance of the organisation.

Question 48

Level of wastage

Answer 48

The amount of waste created by the production process.

Question 49

Number or workplace accidents

Answer 49

An indication of how safe the workplace is for employees.

Question 50

Benchmarking

Answer 50

A process in which an organisation measures its performance against that of other leading organisations known for their excellence.

Question 51

Stakeholders

Answer 51

Groups and individuals who interact with the organisation and have an interest in its activities.

Question 52

Social responsibility

Answer 52

The obligations a business has over and above its legal responsibilities to the wellbeing of employees and customers, shareholders and the community as well as the environment.

Question 53

Ethical management

Answer 53

Abiding by moral standards and doing the ‘right’ thing in the interest of all stakeholders.

Question 54

Shareholders

Answer 54

Any person who owns shares in a company.

Question 55

Management

Answer 55

Management has the responsibility of running a profitable or successful organisation. Most managers today understand that ethical and social responsible activities should lead to increased sales.

Question 56

Employees

Answer 56

A worker under an employer’s control. Control may involve the location of the workplace, the way in which the work is performed or the degree of supervision involved. These criteria are critical in determining legal disputes over the employment contract.

Question 57

Unions

Answer 57

Unions represent employees in many workplaces. They attempt to negotiate favourable pay and work conditions on the employees’ behalf. Unions work to prevent anything that diminishes employee rights, safety or conditions.

Question 58

Profit

Answer 58

A financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.

Question 59

Conflict of interest

Answer 59

Any situation in which an individual or corporation (either private or governmental) is in a position to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for their personal or corporate benefit.

Question 60

Management function

Answer 60

A large-scale organisation creates an organisational structure that has separate departments, each focusing on a particular functional area, and allocates people and resources to each area to achieve objectives. For example; marketing, human resources, operations, finance and research and development.

Question 61

Government Tariff

Answer 61

A tax imposed on imported goods and services. Tariffs are used to restrict trade, as they increase the price of imported goods and services, making them more expensive to consumers.