Midterm Flashcards
Business
any activity that seeks to provide goods and services to others while operating at a profit
Goods
tangible products such as computers, food, clothing, cars, and appliances
Services
intangible products that can’t be held in your hand, such as education, health care, insurance, recreation, and travel and tourism.
Entrepreneur
person who risks time and money to start and manage a business.
Revenue
total amount of money a business takes in during a given period by selling goods and services.
Profit
amount a business earns above and beyond what it spends for salaries and other expenses.
Loss
when a business’s expenses are more than its revenues.
Risk
the chance an entrepreneur takes of losing time and money on a business that may not prove profitable.
Standard of living
the amount of goods and services people can buy with the money they have.
Quality of life
general well-being of a society in terms of political freedom, natural environment, education, health care, safety, amount of leisure, and rewards that add to the satisfaction and joy that other goods and services provide.
Stakeholders
all the people who stand to gain or lose by the policies and activities of a business and whose concerns the business needs to address.
Outsourcing
contracting with other companies (often in other countries) to do some or all of the functions of the firm, like its production or accounting tasks.
Non profit org.
organization whose goals do not include making a personal profit for its owners or organizers.
Factors of production
are the resources used to create wealth: land, labor, and capital
Business environment
consists of the surrounding factors that either help or hinder the development of business.
Technology
everything from phones to computers, mobile devices, medical imaging machines, robots, the Internet, social media, and various software programs and apps that make business processes more efficient and productive.
Productivity
amount of output you generate given the amount of input (such as hours worked).
E-commerce
is buying and selling of goods online.
Database
electronic storage file for information; one use of databases is to store vast amounts of information about consumers.
Identity theft
obtaining individuals’ personal information
Empowerment
giving frontline workers the responsibility, authority, freedom, training, and equipment they need to respond quickly to customer requests.
Demography
statistical study of the human population in regard to its size, density, and other characteristics, such as age, race, gender, and income.
Climate change
movement of the temperature of the planet up or down over time.
Greening
saving energy and producing products that cause less harm to the environment.
Econ
study of how society chooses to employ resources to produce goods and services and distribute them for consumption among various competing groups and individuals.
Micro
part of economic study that looks at the behavior of people and organizations in particular markets.
Macro
part of economic study that looks at the operation of a nation’s economy as a whole.
Resource development
study of how to increase resources and to create the conditions that will make better use of those resources.
Invisible hand
phrase coined by Adam Smith to describe the process that turns self-directed gain into social and economic benefits for all.
Capitalism
economic system in which all or most of the factors of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit.
Supply
refers to the quantity of products that manufacturers or owners are willing to sell at different prices at a specific time.
Demand
refers to the quantity of products that people are willing to buy at different prices at a specific time.
Market price
the price determined by supply and demand.
Perfect competition
degree of competition in which there are many sellers in a market and none is large enough to dictate the price of a product.
Monopolistic competition
is the degree of competition in which a large number of sellers produce very similar products that buyers nevertheless perceive as different.
Oligopoly
a degree of competition in which just a few sellers dominate a market.
Monopoly
degree of competition in which only one seller controls the total supply of a product or service, and sets the price.
Gross domestic product
total value of final goods and services produced in a country in a given year.
Gross output
measure of total sales volume at all stages of production.
Unemployment rate
number of civilians at least 16 years old who are unemployed and tried to find a job within the prior four weeks.
Inflation
general rise in the prices of goods and services over time.
Disinflation
a situation in which price increases are slowing (the inflation rate is declining).
Deflation
is a situation in which prices are declining, occurring when countries produce so many goods that people cannot afford to buy them all.
Stagflation
situation when the economy is slowing, but prices keep going up anyhow.
Consumer price index
consists of monthly statistics that measure the pace of inflation or deflation.
Producer price index
index that measures prices at the wholesale level.
Business cycle
periodic rises and falls that occur in economies over time.
Recession
two or more consecutive quarters of decline in the GDP
Depression
severe recession, usually accompanied by deflation.
Fiscal policy
federal government’s efforts to keep the economy stable by increasing or decreasing taxes or government spending.
Keynesian economic theory
theory that a government policy of increasing spending and cutting taxes could stimulate the economy in a recession.
National debt
sum of government deficits over time.
Monetary policy
management of the monetary supply and interest rates; it is controlled by the Fed.
Management
process used to accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling people and other organizational resources.
Planning
management function that includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
Organizing
management function that includes designing the structure of the organization and creating conditions and systems in which every¬one and everything work together to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.
Leading
means creating a vision for the organization and guiding, training, coaching, and motivating others to work effectively to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives in a timely manner.
Controlling
management function that involves establishing clear standards to determine whether or not an organization is progressing toward its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a good job, and taking corrective action if they are not.
Vision
encompassing explanation of why the organization exists and where it is headed; it is more than a goal.
Mission statement
outline of the fundamental purposes of the organization.
Goals
broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wishes to attain.
Objectives
specific, short-term statements detailing how to achieve the organizational goals.
Swot analysis
planning tool used to analyze an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Strategic planning
process of deter¬mining the major goals of the organization and the policies and strategies needed for obtaining and using resources to achieve those goals.
Tactical planning
process of developing detailed, short-term statements about what is to be done, who is to do it, and how it is to be done.
Operational planning
process of setting of work standards and schedules necessary to implement the company’s tactical objectives.
Contingency planning
process of preparing alternative courses of action that may be used if the primary plans don’t achieve the organization’s objectives.
Decision making
choosing among two or more alternatives.
Problem solving
process of solving the everyday problems that occur; it is less formal than the decision-making process and calls for quicker action.
Brainstorming
coming up with as many solutions to a problem as possible in a short period of time with no censoring of ideas.
PMI
all the Pluses for a solution in one column, all the Minuses in another, and the Implications in a third column.
Top management
highest level of management, consisting of the president and other key company executives who develop strategic plans.
CEO
responsible for all top-level decisions in the firm.
COO
responsible for putting those changes into effect.
CFO
responsible for obtaining funds, planning budgets, collecting funds, and so on.
CIO or CKO
responsible for getting the right information to managers so they can make good decisions. CIOs are more important than ever.