Introduction to Commerce & Canadian Business History Flashcards
Brand
A name, term, sign, symbol, design, or some combination that identifies the products of one firm and shows how they differ from competitors’ offerings.
Branding
The process of creating in consumers’ minds an identity for a good, service, or company; a major marketing tool in contemporary business.
Business
All profit‐seeking activities and enterprises that provide goods and services necessary to an economic system.
Capital
Production inputs consisting of technology, tools, information, and physical facilities.
Capitalism
An economic system that rewards firms for their ability to perceive and serve the needs and demands of consumers; also called the private enterprise system.
Competition
The battle among businesses for consumer acceptance.
Competitive differentiation
The unique combination of organizational abilities, products, and approaches that sets one company apart from its competitors in the minds of customers.
Consumer orientation
A business philosophy that focuses first on consumers’ unmet wants and needs, and then designs products to meet those needs.
Creativity
The capacity to develop novel solutions to perceived organizational problems.
Critical thinking
The ability to analyze and assess information to pinpoint problems or opportunities.
Diversity
The blending of individuals of different genders, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, religions, ages, and physical and mental abilities to enhance a firm’s chances of success.
Entrepreneur
A person who seeks a profitable opportunity and takes the necessary risks to set up and operate a business.
Entrepreneurship
The willingness to take risks to create and operate a business.
Factors of production
Four basic inputs for effective economic operation: natural resources, capital, human resources, and entrepreneurship.
Human resources
Production inputs consisting of anyone who works, including both the physical labour and the intellectual inputs contributed by workers.
Natural resources
All production inputs that are useful in their natural states, including agricultural land, building sites, forests, and mineral deposits.
Nearshoring
The outsourcing of production or services to locations near a firm’s home base.
Not-for-profit organizations
Organizations whose primary aims are public service, not returning a profit to their owners.
Offshoring
The relocation of business processes to lower‐cost locations overseas.
Outsourcing
Using outside vendors to produce goods or fulfill services and functions that were previously handled in‐house or in‐country.
Private enterprise system
An economic system that rewards firms for their ability to identify and serve the needs and demands of customers.
Private property
The most basic freedom under the private enterprise system; the right to own, use, buy, sell, and hand down land, buildings, machinery, equipment, patents, individual possessions, and various intangible kinds of property.
Profits
Rewards for businesspeople who take the risks involved in offering goods and services to customers.
Relationship era
The business era where firms seek to actively promote customer loyalty by carefully managing every interaction.
Relationship management
The collection of activities that build and maintain ongoing, mutually beneficial ties with customers and other parties.
Social era
The business era in which firms seek ways to connect and interact with customers using technology.
Strategic alliance
A partnership formed to create a competitive advantage for the businesses involved; in international business, a business strategy in which a company finds a partner in the country where it wants to do business.
Transaction management
Building and promoting products in the hope that enough customers will buy them to cover costs and earn profits.
Vision
The ability to perceive marketplace needs and what an organization must do to satisfy them.
