Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Business: midterm
midterm study guide
82
Business
Undergraduate 1
10/12/2011

Additional Business Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Profit
Definition
money left over from revenue after expenses, motivates individuals to engage in business activity.
Term
Nascent Entrepreneurs
Definition
People who are trying to start a business
Term
Entrepreneurs
Definition
Someone who can identify and seizes opportunities. Someone with a higher need for achievement, risk tolerance and creativity than small business owners or corporations
Term
Factors of Production
Definition
Labour, capital, entrepreneurs, natural resources and information resources (also import market)
Term
Command Economy
Definition
Communism and Socialism
Term
Communism
Definition
Gov. owns all factors of production and industries, makes all decisions regarding distribution of resources. Bad because it doesn't give incentive to do better. This is a monopoly
Term
Socialism
Definition
Government owns all key industries (oil, electric, etc.) supposed to be more efficient
Term
Market Economies
Definition
Supply and demand based, Capitalism, ownership opened to all, freedom of choice.
Term
Mixed Market economies
Definition
Combination of command and market. This is what the U.S. and Canada is, no country has pure capitalist, socialist or communist country
Term
The Economic Environment
Definition
Conditions of economic system in which an organization operates.
Term
Key economic goals: applies to economic environment
Definition
Key economic goals of the government: economic growth, stability and full employment. If you have these three you can afford good health care.
Term
The Business Cycle
Definition
reccurring pattern ups and downs in the economy- four phases- peak, recession, trough & recovery
Term
Aggregate Output
Definition
total quantity of goods and services that a country's citizens can purchase
Term
Standard of Living
Definition
total quantity and quality of goods and services available to a country's population
Term
Gross Domestic Product
Definition
value of all goods and services produced by an country's economy within a given period through domestic factors of production
Term
Gross National Product (GNP)
Definition
value of goods and services produced by a national economy with given period regardless of production location
Term
Productivity
Definition
come from better efficiency, improves standard of living
Term
Balance of Trade
Definition
value of exported products minus value of imported
Term
National Debt
Definition
amount of money that a government owes creditors
Term
The Business Environment
Definition
most successful firms focus on core competencies
Term
Porter's Five Force Model
Definition
Supplier power, substitutes, buyer power, risk of entry all equal intensity of competition
Term
Rivalry among existing competitors
Definition
Firms increase, become equal in capablity, demand for product grows, cost to switch is low, dissatisfied with position and move to improve it
Term
Supplier Power
Definition
Many customers, few companies. To buy is cheaper than make
Term
Buyer Power
Definition
Size of buyer, switching costs low, information (on costs to make)
Term
Business Process Management
Definition
Moving away from department-oriented organizations toward process-oriented teams
Term
Written code of ethics
Definition
Increase public confidence, improve internal operations by providing consistent standards, helps managers respond to problems
Term
Managerial Ethics
Definition
behavior towards employees (hiring, firing and working conditions), economic agents (customers, competitors, suppliers, stockholders) and behavior towards organization
Term
Entrepreneurship
Definition
process of identifying an opportunity in the marketplace and capitalizing on it
Term
Intrapreneur
Definition
Creates something new within large organization
Term
Entrepreneurial Process
Definition
Entrepreneurs identify opportunities and resources then start new venture set-up you then need growth and stability
Term
Bootstrapping
Definition
Doing more with less, preferably someone else's resources
Term
Financial resources
Definition
Debt (a loan) or equity (selling a portion of the ventures)
Term
Venture Capitalist
Definition
Someone who provides money to ventures in exchange for equity, high-risk
Term
Benefits of franchising for the franchiser
Definition
rapid growth, shared advertising costs, increased investment money, motivated owners, local expertise
Term
Benefits of franchising for the franchisee
Definition
Access to management (expertise), no need to build a business, lower failure rates, well-developed brand, training provided, economies in scale in buying supplies, help with financing, be your own boss.
Term
Sole Proprietorship
Definition
Advantages: Freedom, simplicity, low start-up costs, tax benefits. Disadvantages: full liability, difficult to raise money, reliance on yourself
Term
Partnership
Definition
Frequently used by professional, two or more individuals agree to combine financial, managerial and technical abilities to operate a business
Term
Limited Partners
Definition
Partnership with limited liability, don't participate actively in the business. Needs one general partner to participate and be held liable.
Term
General Partnership
Definition
Most common, similar to sole proprietorship because partners are liable
Term
Advantages of Partnership
Definition
more money, talent and tax benefits. Disadvantages, liability and potential conflict
Term
Corporation
Definition
Regardless of size or industry corporations must have the following characteristics, separate legal entity from owners, property rights and obligations, indefinite life span, limited liability.
Term
Board of Directors
Definition
Part of corporation, governing body, responsible to shareholders, make major decisions, personally responsible for unpaid tax
Term
Income trust
Definition
Avoiding tax by distributing profits
Term
Income Trust Advantages
Definition
advantages are limited liability, company maintains value, professional management, easy to raise money.
Term
Income Trust Disadvantages
Definition
Start-up costs, double taxation (corporations and stockholders both pay taxes on profit) regulations, stockholder revolts.
Term
Cooperative
Definition
Incorporated form of business where it is owned and democratically controlled by the people who use it's services or product. Earnings distributed by use rather than level of investment. Formed to benefit its owners in the form of reduced prices and distribution of surpluses
Term
Comparative Advantage
Definition
A country can produce certain items more cheaply than it can other items
Term
Absolute advantage
Definition
a country can produce something more cheaply or better than any other country
Term
International competitiveness
Definition
ability of a country to generate more wealth than other countries
Term
Balance of Trade
Definition
difference between the total value of exports, and the total value of imports.
Term
Trade deficit
Definition
imports exceed exports
Term
Balance of Payments
Definition
Cash flow into or out of the country
Term
Cash flow comes in through
Definition
exports, foreign tourist spending in canada, foreign investments in canada, earnings from canadian investments outside of canada
Term
Cash flow goes out through
Definition
imports, canadian tourist spending overseas, foreign aid grants, military spending abroad, canadian investment abroad, earnings from foreign investment
Term
Levels of International Business
Definition
Exporter/importer (stays in home country but imports goods), international firm (significant portion of business abroad), multinational firm (assets and facilities in 2 or more foreign countries)
Term
Determinants of organizations structure
Definition
size, strategy, technology and economic conditions
Term
Chain of command
Definition
flow of decision-making power and reporting (who you report to) relationships, part of organizational structure
Term
Building Blocks of Organizational Structure
Definition
Specification on how a job is supposed to be done and how these jobs relate to each other
Term
Specialization
Definition
a task fragmentized into component parts
Term
Specialization and company size
Definition
small company = fewer employees and therefore less specialization
Term
Departmentalization
Definition
Grouping related jobs into logical units, brings accountability, easy for managers to monitor and better control
Term
Bases of Departmentalization
Definition
Functional (marketing, finance), customer (department store) and process (manufacturing, food processes)
Term
Distributing authority
Definition
Either centralized (control from above, consistency) or decentralized (lower and mid-level managers to make decisions, flexible, delegate tasks)
Term
Job Analysis
Definition
Duties, conditions, tools used. Job specifications: skills required. Used for recruitment, performance appraisal and compensation rate
Term
Forecasting HR demand and supply
Definition
When to hire and layoff, consideration to expansion, economic trends and sales forecast.
Term
Evaluating performance
Definition
determines how well their doing, how effective recruiting and selection is and what are training and compensation needs
Term
Performance Appraisal Methods
Definition
Simple ranking (best to worst), forced distribution (certain percentage must fall into each category from great to poor), graphic rating scale (1-5), critical incident method (particular good or bad events recorded)
Term
Benefits
Definition
Performance based or Merit pay plans (good work earns more)
Term
Performance Based
Definition
Individual incentives (real time reward), piece-rate plan (how fast/speed), sales commission, bonuses (annual), pay for knowledge (degrees=more cash)
Term
Workforce Management systems
Definition
monitoring worker productivity and then scheduling most productive at busiest times
Term
Profit sharing plans
Definition
The profitability level of the firm is used to determine the bonuses of employees
Term
Gainsharing
Definition
Bonuses for reduction in cost (due to increased efficiency)
Term
Non-financial Benefits
Definition
Mandated protection plans, optional plans (healthy care), paid time off, unpaid sabbaticals.
Term
Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations
Definition
Protects people from unfair or inappropriate discrimination
Term
Canadian Human Rights Act 1977
Definition
Applies to federally regulated organizations, prohibits discrimination for age, race, color, etc.
Term
Employment Equity Act 1986
Definition
Designates 4 groups as disabled (woman, minorities, aboriginal people, disabled) Purpose is to make sure nobody is denied opportunities for reasons unrelated to ability. Required to publish statistics. Enforced by Canadian Human Rights commission
Term
Comparable Worth
Definition
Equal pay for work of equal value to the firm, classified based on qualifications, similar requirements paid the same
Term
Economic Agents
Definition
customers, suppliers, stockholders, competitors
Term
Types of cooperatives
Definition
Consumer (sell to members and public such as gas station), financial (credit unions), insurance, housing cooperatives !provide houses for those with stocks)
Term
Most profitable companies
Definition
Encana corp (gas), canadian wheat board, canadian natural resources
Term
Input markets
Definition
firms buy resources they need in the production of goods and services. input money to economy
Term
Output Market
Definition
supply goods and services in response to demand on the part of customers. output goods
Supporting users have an ad free experience!