Unit 7 Flashcards
what is a mission statement?
sets out a business’ overall purpose and focus or its reason for existence and is normally set out in a written statement.
why is a mission statement important?
- communicates values and purpose to stakeholders
- informs the strategy adopted by an organisation
- enables measurable goals and objectives to be identified.
what factors influence a businesses mission?
- values of founder
- strengths of the business
- extent of of social responsibility
- industry they operate in
what are corporate objectives ?
medium to long term goals
what are the internal factors influencing corporate objectives?
- business ownership = sole trader, Ltd, Plc
- business culture = stems from the entrepreneur = way things are done there
- business performance = easier to achieve with strong performance = finance
what are the external factors influencing corporate objectives?
- short-termism
- changes in economy
- changes in gov policies
- competitors actions
- social changes in tech
why would a business feel concern more for short term performance?
- shareholder pressure = profit maximisation for high dividend and raise share price = benefit from capital gain
- HR strategy and reward = performance related pay
- new leadership = different priorities
what are strategic decisions?
judgements made by senior management that are long term and involve major commitment of resources
what is short- termism?
the pressure to deliver quick results to the potential detriment of the longer term development of a company
what is culture?
encompasses the value , attitudes and beliefs of those who work for a business
what is the order of objectives heirarchy?
1-Mission- most strategic
2- corporate
3- functional
4- team
5- individual- most detailed
what are is the objective of survival?
a short term objective for a small business entering the market or at a time of crisis. prioritising breakeven and getting into profit
what is profit maximisation objective?
trying to make the most profit possible, most likely to be the aim of the owners and shareholders.
what is profit satisfaction objective?
trying to make enough profit to keep owners comfortable, probably the aim of smaller businesses whose owners don’t want to work longer hours
what is the growth objective?
a business tries to make as many sales as they can, to become a large business that ca benefit from economies of scale.
what is the cash flow objective?
having sufficient money to pay day-to-day debts / cost.
what is the ethics objective?
organisations such as Co-op and lush have objectives which are based around beliefs on environmental sustainability and charitable aid
what is the social objective?
run for profit and to provide a service to the public and will need to meet the needs of wealth demographics throughout society.
what is a strategy?
a long term plan to achieve the business vision through attaining its corporate objectives
what are tactics?
short-term decisions usually involving few resources, made to complement a strategy
what is a function?
an area or department of a business. the usual 4 key functional areas are: marketing, finance, HR and operations
what must functional decisions all work towards?
the same strategic goal which requires communication and coordination.
for example if a firm decides to expand into a foreign market, how would functional areas play into that?
- Marketing = carry out research, plan and execute an effective promotion campaign
- Finance = need to budget the expansion = raise finance and manage cash flow
- HR = design workforce plan and recruit in new area
What is SWOT analysis used for?
a management tool that allows a business to assess its internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats
what is the value of using SWOT analysis?
provide managers with a clearer view of what the business is good at, what its weaknesses are, what it could be doing to improve and against what it should protect itself.
what are the limitations of SWOT analysis?
- don’t prioritise issues
- doesn’t provide solutions
- can generate too many ideas
- produce un useful information
- may not be accurate
what are the benefits of SWOT analysis?
- unique to the business = primary research
- dynamic data = constantly changing
- regular updates
what is an income statement?
shows the business’s revenues and costs and therefore its profits or loss over a period of time.
define revenue
the amount of money receive from the sale of good and services during trading period
define cost of sales
costs involved directly in supplying the good or services = raw materials and direct labour
define gross profit
difference between revenue and cost of sales
define expenses
costs that are not directly related to production = fixed cost = rent, salaries, marketing…
define operating profit
profit that takes into account cost of sales and expenses
= expenses - gross profit
define tax
corporation tax paid to the government
define net profit
profit from deducting the tax from operating profit = a measure of the performance of a business as it includes all costs paid by the business
how can business’ interpret their income statement?
judge performance of the business
- managers= can inform future decisions and likely expansion
- shareholders= use to decide on buying more shares or sell shares depending on profits
- tax authorities = calculate amount of tax owed by business
what is a balance sheet?
represents a snapshot of a business’ financial position at a given time. it shows the assets and the liabilities of the business. including the shareholder equity.
what are assets?
anything a business owns
what are liabilities?
anything a business owes
what is working capital?
the cash available to a business for its day to day operations
= current liabilities - current assets
what is capital employed?
the total amount of money invested into the business.
= total equity + non current liabilities
what are non current assets ?
assets normally kept by a business for more than a year
what are current assets?
usually kept for less than a year
- cash
- stock
- receivables
-what are receivables?
money owed to the business by customers who haven’t yet paid for goods or services.
what are current liabilities?
debts that will need to be repaid by the business
- payables
= the business uses current assets to pay for = needs sufficient working capital
what are non current liabilities?
debts that will take longer than one year to repay
what is net assets?
the value or worth of the business
= assets - liabilities
what is total equity / shareholders equity ?
money belonging to shareholders
= share capital + reserves (profit retained in business not distributed as dividends )
how can a business interpret a balance sheet?
businesses, mostly Plc s will want to present financial performance as good so they can process window dressing
what is involved in window dressing?
- inflating the value of non current assets
- borrowing money for a short time to improve current assets = enhance business’ working capital
what is ratio analysis?
involves the comparison of financial data to gain insights into business performance
how can ratio analysis elevate understanding?
insight into the performance by comparing figures against each other
what ratios fall under what catagory?
- Liquidity = Current ratio
- Gearing = Gearing ratio
- Profitability=RoCE (return on capital employed), profit margin
- Efficiency = inventory turnover ratio, receivables days ratio, payables days ratio
What is liquidity?
represents a business’ ability to pay day to day debts = to pay its liabilities such as salaries, suppliers and taxes
what does a liquidity ratio assess?
whether a business has sufficient cash or equivalent to be able to pay short term debts.
what is the equation for Current ratio?
Current ratio= Current assets / Current liabilities
how is the current ratio written?
x:1 = which means the business has x in cash or equivalent for every £1 of debts it has to pay in the short term
what is the ideal current ratio?
2:1
- however it depend on the business
what is capital structure?
shows the business’ source of finance
what is a mortgage loan?
a loan secured against an asset of similar value ( collateral) = a building
what is share capital?
represents the money raised from the sale of shares
what is total equity?
share capital + reserves (profit kept within the business)
what is capital employed?
represents all the money borrowed by the business for long term funding
= total equity (shareholder money) + non current liabilities
what does gearing show?
the capital structure of the business: where the business borrowed its money from.
= the proportion of finance that is non current liabilities (bank loans) relative to the finance provided by total equity.
what does gearing assess?
whether the business is at risk from having too much debts. debts represent money that must be repaid with interest.
what is the risk of having high debts with interest rates?
- at risk of an increase in interest rates
- at risk of liquidation if they can’t repay debts
what is the calculation for the Gearing ratio?
Gearing ratio= (non current liabilities / capital employed) x 100h
how do you calculate capital employed?
capital employed= total equity + non current liabilities
how can a business interpret gearing ratio?
- ideally figure should be below 50%
- over 50% = business is highly geared and at risk of not being able to repay debts = risk of interest rates
- high gearing may mean banks will be reluctant to lending more money = reducing financial sources
what does Profit margin show?
financial ratio that measures the percentage of profit earned by a company in relation to its revenue
What is the calculation for Gross Profit Margin?
( Gross profit / sales revenue) x 100
what is the calculation for operating profit margin?
( Operating profit / sales revenue) x 100
what is the calculation for net Profit margin?
( Net profit / sales revenue) x 100
What does RoCE (Return on capital employed) ratio show?
method of measuring profitability of the business. showing the % of profit generated from each pound borrowed by the business
what is the calculation for RoCE ratio?
(Operating profit / Capital employed) x 100
how do you calculate Capital employed?
Total equity + non current liabilities
how can a business interpret the RoCE ratio?
- the higher percentage, the better
- needs to be compared to the figure from the previous years to see a pattern falling or rising
- compare to similar businesses
what does inventory turnover ratio show?
measures how often each year a business sells and replaces its inventory
what is the calculation for inventory turnover ratio?
inventory turnover ratio ( measured number of times per year = cost of sales / inventory
how can a business interpret inventory turnover ratio?
- want to be quick and efficient
= especially in businesses selling perishables
what does receivables days ratio show?
measures the average length of time taken by customers to pay amounts owed to them
what is the calculation for receivables days ratio?
(trade receivables / revenue) x 365 days = number of days
what does payables days ratio show?
measures the average length of time taken by a business to pay amounts it owes
what is the calculation for payables days ratio?
(trade payables / cost of sales) x 365= number of days
how can a business interpret receivables days ratio and payables days ratio?
must be compared to each other. ideally wants receivables days ratio shorter than payables. to protect the business’ cash flow before they have to pay of their debts.
alongside analysing the ratios they need to look at what factors?
- industry trends
- tech changes
- changes within company
- consumer tastes
- economic factors
what comparisons should they make with the ratios?
- previous year ratios
- other businesses in industry
- historical data for accuracy = figures may be inaccurate if window dressing techniques used
-external environment = econ, competitors, gov policies
what are core competencies?
the combination of knowledge and technical capacities that allow a business to differentiate from its competitors. these provide a business with a USP and a competitive advantage.
core competencies are strengths that…
- provide benefits to customers = why customers choose a business and stay loyal
- are difficult for competitors to replicate = barrier to entry
- provide opportunities to introduce new products and new markets = economies of scope.