Glossary terms AOS 3

Question 1

Define internal environment

Answer 1

Involves factors within a business that a business has control over because decisions about internal factors are determined by the people within the business.

Question 2

Define external environment

Answer 2

Involves the surrounding factors that can impact a business that it has no control over, categorised as macro factors, or operating factors.

Question 3

Define macro factors

Answer 3

Social, legal, technological, global and economic conditions that a business operates in and has no control over.

Question 4

Define operating factors

Answer 4

The primary external factors impacting a business that it has some control over.

Question 5

Define business planning

Answer 5

The process of establishing a business’s goals and developing strategies to achieve them.

Question 6

Define legal and government regulations

Answer 6

Laws and rules made by parliaments and governments, as well as decisions made by the courts.

Question 7

Define societal attitudes

Answer 7

The collective values, beliefs and opinions held by a group of people, for example, that employees should be provided with work-life balance.

Question 8

Define societal behaviour

Answer 8

The way people act and respond in various situations.

Question 9

Define values and beliefs

Answer 9

The principles, standards and assumptions upheld by individuals or groups of people, which influence how they make decisions, for example, there is now a belief that businesses should have a positive impact on the community and the environment.

Question 10

Define social trend

Answer 10

A general development in the way a group of people in society behave, for example, an increased reliance on advanced technology.

Question 11

Define economic conditions

Answer 11

Conditions that exist in relation to the productive performance and financial stability of a nation, or other geographical area and include factors such as interest rates and consumer confidence.

Question 12

Define interest rates

Answer 12

The amount a lender charges a borrower and is a percentage of the principal-the amount loaned.

Question 13

Define employment level

Answer 13

The percentage of the labour force who are working in paid employment.

Question 14

Define tax rates

Answer 14

The percentage of income or spending that is required to be paid to the government by individuals or businesses.

Question 15

Define consumer confidence

Answer 15

A measure of customers’ feelings and expectations about current and future economic conditions.

Question 16

Define technological developments

Answer 16

The invention and innovation of tools that solve problems and enhance processes.

Question 17

Define overseas competitors

Answer 17

Businesses that are located in other countries that operate in the same industry and offer a similar good or service.

Question 18

Define overseas markets

Answer 18

Any means by which the exchange of goods and services takes place outside of a business’s own country of operation.

Question 19

Define offshoring of labour

Answer 19

A business moving its services or processes to another country.

Question 20

Define exchange rates

Answer 20

The relative prices at which the currency of one country can be exchanged for the currency of another country.

Question 21

Define patent

Answer 21

A licence that provides a business with exclusive rights to use innovative devices, substances, methods and processes.

Question 22

Define copyright

Answer 22

Free and automatic protection used on original ideas such as writing, art, sound, films and photographs.

Question 23

Define trademark

Answer 23

An exclusive right granted over a unique aspect of a business, such as a symbol, word, sound, or number, that is used to distinguish the business, or its products.

Question 24

Define online sales

Answer 24

Buying and selling goods and services using the internet.

Question 25

Define Corporate Social Responsibility

Answer 25

The ethical conduct of a business beyond legal obligations, and the consideration of social, economic, and environmental impacts when making business decisions.

Question 26

Define customer needs

Answer 26

The essential requirements consumers intend to fulfil with the purchase of a good or service from a business, for example, a product must be fit for the purposes it is sold, such as a watch must tell the time.

Question 27

Define customer expectations

Answer 27

The values or benefits that customers seek when purchasing a good or service from a business.

Question 28

Define competitor

Answer 28

A business that operates in the same or similar industry and offers a similar good or service.

Question 29

Define suppliers

Answer 29

Individuals or businesses that provide the resources required to produce goods and services.

Question 30

Define supply chain

Answer 30

The network of individuals or businesses that are involved in producing and distributing a final good and service to customers.

Question 31

Define Special Interest Groups

Answer 31

Organisations or a group of people that seek to influence laws, policies, or behaviours to benefit a specific cause.

Question 32

Define environmental lobby groups

Answer 32

Organisations that advocate for the protection of the environment and promote environmental issues to businesses, the government and the public.

Question 33

Define business associations

Answer 33

Organisations that advise and support businesses in a particular industry.

Question 34

Define unions

Answer 34

Organisations composed of individuals who represent and speak on behalf of employees in a particular industry to protect and improve wages and working conditions.