Introduction To Business Flashcards
What is an organisation?
Social arrangement
Pursuing collective goals
Controlling own performance
Boundary from environment
What are the main elements of an organisation?
Social arrangements - purpose
Collective goals - organisational objectives
Controlled performance - measured
Boundary - physical (buildings, fences) & social (rules, ethics)
What are the differences between organisations?
Ownership
Control
Activity
Profit/not-for-profit
Size
Legal status
Access to finance
Technology
What is a business?
Profit orientated
Objective to maximise owner wealth
What is NFP?
Organisation with primary objective to maximise benefits to beneficiaries e.g. charities
Provide goods or services
What is a stakeholder?
A person or group of people who has a stake in the organisation.
Stakeholders are virtually everybody who is anything to do with the business 
What are primary stakeholders?
Shareholders or owners
Who are secondary stakeholders?
Management
Employees.
Customers
Suppliers
Lenders
Government
Analysts.
Society
Environment
What are the businesses objectives?
Primary objectives - maximise, shareholder wealth (profit), maximise benefit the target stakeholder (NFP)
Secondary objectives - Market, standing, innovation, productivity, staff, development, corporate responsibility 
What are the hierarchy of objectives?
After striving to maximise wealth, other objectives are :
Profit satisficing
Revenue maximisation?
Multiple objectives.
Business constraints.
ESG 
What is a mission?
Purpose - Why does the organisation exist?
Strategy – what gives the company a competitive advantage?
Policies - what standards and behaviours are adopted?
Values – what beliefs do managers and employees share? 
What is vision?
How does the organisation see itself in the future?
What are goals?
A desired end result
What are aims?
Qualitative non-operational goals
What are objectives?
Quantitive operational goals
What are plans?
What needs to be done to achieve objectives
What are standards and targets?
The desired level of performance
In objectives, what does Smart stand for?
Specific – easy to understand.
Measurable – quantified
Achievable
Relevant – appropriate to the mission and stakeholders.
Timed- have a time period for achievement 
What are standards and targets?
Specifics of the desired level of performance
What are the three types of standards?
Physical
Cost
Quality
What is sustainability?
Meeting the needs of the current generation without affecting the future generations
What are the three Ps with regards to sustainability?
People
Planet
Profit 
What is a tangible resource?
Natural capital, e.g. soil, water
Benefits, people through ecosystem services and abiotic services
What are intangible resources?
Human capital and stakeholder relationships
What are the two ways in which organisations can view sustainability?
Impacts – impact on sustainability.
Dependencies – impact to sustainability has an organisation
What is the SEE framework? 
Social impact on people and communities.
Environmental - impact on planet Earth climate?
Economic-impact on profit and return to stakeholders.
When was the triple bottom line ( TBL) created?
1990s
What is the TBL reporting based on?
3 Ps
People, e.g. fair, wages
Planet, e.g. reduce fossil fuels.
Profit, e.g. achieving an acceptable profit after tax
What is the ESG?
Environmental, social and governance framework
How does the ESG work?
Alternative framework which considers the internal approach taken by an organisation to manage sustainability.
Environmental – achieve environmental sustainability. (Planet)
Social – achieve social sustainability. (People)
Governance – how the organisation is managed overall
What does the ESG framework aim to do?
Focus the attention of management on
Enterprise value - Value of business based on future cash flow
Social value - Desire to generate long-term positive impacts on the community, environment, etc
What is climate change?
Long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns, primarily due to burning fossil fuels
Went on zero targets due to be reached?
2050
What Is the GHG protocol, corporate, accounting and reporting standard?
A guide which uses scope 1, 2 and 3 categorisation to define the scale of greenhouse gas emissions, which of course is directly or indirectly by an organisation.
Scope 1 - GHG emissions made directly by organisation, e.g. company vehicles
Scope 2 - GHG emissions made indirectly by organisation, e.g. electricity purchase.
Scope 3 - GHG Emissions made indirectly through value chain e.g. by suppliers 
What are upstream GHG emissions? 
Emissions from manufacture of raw materials e.g. car factory energy consumption
What are downstream GHG emissions?
From use and disposal of products e.g. fuel from driving vehicles
When did the UN create the 17 SDGs?
What are the overarching aims?
2015
End poverty
Fight inequality
Stop climate change
What are the SDG goals that affect business?
Decent work and economic growth
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Responsible consumption and production
What are the 4Rs of recycling?
Replace
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
What are the mitigation hierarchies?
Eliminate negative impact.
Reduce waste
Substitute energy sources.
Compensate those affected
