Key words - Year 2 Flashcards
Short-termism
A focus on immediate results and short-term gains without considering long-term consequences or sustainable growth strategies.
Strategy
A plan or course of action designed to achieve long-term goals or objectives, often involving analysis, decision-making and resource allocation.
Tactics
Specific actions implemented to achieve short-term objectives within the broader framework of a strategy.
SWOT analysis
An assessment tool used to identify a business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, providing insights for strategic planning and decision-making.
Core competencies
Unique capabilities or strengths that differentiate a business from its competitors and contribute to its competitive advantage.
Regulator
A governmental or non-governmental entity responsible for overseeing and enforcing rules, regulations and standards within a particular industry or sector.
Infrastructure
The physical and organisational structures, facilities and systems necessary for the operation of a society or enterprise, including transportation, communication and utilities.
Fiscal policy
Government policies related to taxation, spending and borrowing aimed at influencing economic conditions, such as inflation, unemployment and economic growth.
Monetary policy
Government policies related to the control and regulation of money supply, interest rates and credit conditions, often implemented by central banks to influence economic activity and stabilise financial markets.
Open trade
A policy of unrestricted international trade and commerce, promoting the free flow of goods, services and capital across borders without barriers or tariffs.
Protectionism
A policy of imposing restrictions, tariffs or trade barriers to protect domestic industries from foreign competition, often motivated by concerns about job loss or economic sovereignty.
Migration
The movement of people from one place to another, either within a country or across international borders.
Corporate social responsibility
The ethical and voluntary commitment of businesses to contribute to the well-being of society and the environment, beyond legal obligations.
Market penetration
A strategy focused on increasing sales of existing products or services in current markets, often through pricing adjustments, marketing campaigns, or expanding distribution channels.
Market development
A strategy aimed at expanding into new market segments or geographical areas with existing products or services, targeting new customer groups or market segments.
New product development
The process of creating and introducing innovative products or services to meet evolving customer needs or to enter new markets, involving research, design, testing and launch phases.
Diversification
A strategy involving the expansion of a company’s business activities into new products, services and markets that are unrelated to its current offerings, aiming to spread risk and capture new opportunities.
Competitive advantage
The unique strengths, capabilities or resources that enable a company to outperform its competitors and achieve superior performance in the marketplace, leading to increased market share or profitability.
Organic growth
Expansion achieved through internal development, such as increasing sales, expanding product lines or entering new markets without acquisitions.
External growth
Expansion achieved through acquisitions, mergers or partnerships with other companies rather than through internal development.
Technical economies of scale
Cost advantages obtained by increasing the scale of production, leading to lower average costs per unit due to efficiencies in technology and processes.
Purchasing economies of scale
Cost advantages achieved through bulk purchasing of materials or supplies, allowing for lower unit costs due to volume discounts or reduced transaction costs.
Economies of scope
Cost savings resulting from producing a variety of products or services together more efficiently than producing them separately, often by sharing resources or infrastructure.
Diseconomies of scale
Increasing average costs per unit as production levels rise beyond a certain point, typically due to inefficiencies or complexities in managing larger operations.
Synergy
The combined value and performance of two businesses will be greater than the sum of the individual parts.
Overtrading
A situation where a company expands its operations too rapidly without adequate financial resources or operational capacity, leading to cash flow problems.
Retrenchment
A strategic response to financial difficulties or poor performance, involving reducing the scale or scope of operations to improve efficiency and profitability.
Merger
The combination of two or more companies into a single entity, typically with the aim of achieving synergies, expanding market share or increasing competitiveness.
Takeover
The acquisition of a controlling interest in a company by another company.
Venture
A business arrangement where two or more businesses agree to share their resources for mutual benefit.
Franchising
A business model where individuals or groups (franchisees) are granted the right to operate under the brand and business model of a larger company (franchisor) in exchange for fees and royalties.
Vertical integration
The expansion of a company’s operations into different stages of the supply chain, such as acquiring suppliers or distributors, to gain control over production or distribution processes.
Horizontal integration
The expansion of a company’s operations into the same stage of the supply chain or industry, such as acquiring competitors, to increase market share or consolidate market power.
Conglomerate integration
The diversification strategy of expanding into unrelated industries or businesses to spread risk and capture new opportunities, often through mergers or acquisitions.
Kaizen
A Japanese business philosophy focused on continuous improvement in processes, products and services through incremental changes and employee involvement.
Research and development (R&D)
The systematic process of creating, testing and improving products, services or processes through scientific investigation and experimentation.
Intrapreneurship
The practice of fostering entrepreneurial behaviour and innovation within a business, encouraging employees to develop and implement new ideas or projects.
Benchmarking
Comparing a company’s performance, processes or practices with those of competitors or industry leaders to identify areas for improvement and best practices.
Patent
Legal protection granted to investors for their inventions, giving them exclusive rights to make, use or sell the invention for a limited period.
Copyright
Legal protection granted to creators of original works, such as literature, music or software, giving them exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute or perform the work for a limited period.
Globalisation
The process of increased interconnectedness and integration of economies, cultures and societies worldwide, facilitated by advances in technology, communication and trade.
Emerging economy
A developing country with rapidly growing industrialisation, infrastructure and economic potential, often characterised by high growth rates and increasing integration into the global economy.
Export
The sale of goods or services produced in one country to customers or markets in another country, contributing to international trade and economic growth.
Licensing
A business arrangement where one company (licensor) grants another company (licensee) the right to use its intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks or copyrights, in exchange for fees or royalties.
Alliances
Collaborative partnerships between companies to achieve common goals, such as sharing resources, technology or market access, while maintaining autonomy and independence.
Direct investment
The establishment of business operations in a foreign country by a company based in another country, involving long-term ownership and control of assets.
Off-shoring
The relocation of business processes, operations or production to another country.
Re-shoring
The reverse of off-shoring, involving the return of business processes, operations or production to the original country.
Big data
Large volumes of structured and unstructured data collected from various sources, such as social media, sensors or transactions, used for analysis and decision making.
Data mining
The process of discovering patterns, trends and insights from large datasets using statistical, mathematical or machine learning techniques.
Incremental change
Gradual or small-scale adjustments made to existing processes, products or strategies within a business, often aimed at improvement without fundamentally altering the status quo.
Disruptive change
Radical or transformative shifts that significantly alter industry dynamics, business models or market structures, often leading to the displacement of established players and the emergence of new ones.
Restructuring
A strategic reorganisation of an organisation’s structure, operations or resources, often involving changes to departments, roles, processes or hierarchies to improve efficiency or adapt to new challenges.
Delayering
The process of reducing the number of hierarchical levels or management layers.
Organic structure
An organisational design characterised by decentralised decision-making, flexible roles and responsibilities, and fluid communication channels.
Mechanistic structure
An organisational design characterised decision-making, clear hierarchies, formalised roles and procedures, and standardised processes, often found in larger or more traditional organisations.
Organisational culture
The shared values, beliefs, norms and behaviours that define the identity and personality of a business, shaping its attitudes, actions and interactions.
Planned strategy
A deliberate and systematic approach to strategic planning and decision-making, involving formal processes, analysis and goal setting to guide future actions and resource allocation.
Emergent strategy
A strategy that evolves over time in response to changing internal and external conditions.
Strategic drift
The divergence of business’s strategy to the external environment. It occurs when a business fails to adapt its strategy in response to changes in its external environment.
Contingency planning
The process of preparing for and managing unexpected events, crises or uncertainties that may impact the operations or performance of a business, involving risk assessment, mitigation strategies and response plans.
Crisis management
The coordinated process of identifying, managing and resolving crises or emergencies that threaten the reputation, operations or viability of a business, involving crisis communication, decision-making and recovery efforts.
