Important Definitions - EXAMS

Question 1

Shareholder

Answer 1

Any person who owns a share in a company

Question 2

Strategies

Answer 2

The actions that an organisation takes to achieve specific objectives

Question 3

Suppliers

Answer 3

Those organisations and individuals that supply resources to the organisation, allowing it to conduct its operations

Question 4

Staff survey

Answer 4

A measure of how satisfied staff are within the organisation

Question 5

Staff turnover

Answer 5

A measure of the number of staff who are leaving the organisation

Question 6

Stakeholders

Answer 6

Groups and individuals who interact with the organisation and have an interest in its activities

Question 7

Vision statement

Answer 7

A statement of what the organisation aspires to become

Question 8

Rate of productivity growth

Answer 8

A measure of the change in productivity in one year compared to the previous year

Question 9

Macro environment

Answer 9

The broad factors in the economy and society within which the organisation operates

Question 10

Operating environment

Answer 10

The outside factors with which the organisation interacts in the course of conducting its business

Question 11

Outsourcing

Answer 11

Contracting some organisational operations to outside suppliers

Question 12

Social responsibility

Answer 12

The obligations a business has over and above its legal responsibilities to the wellbeing of employees and customers, shareholders and the community as well as the environment

Question 13

Mission statement

Answer 13

A statement expressing why an organisation exisits, it’s purpose and how it will operate

Question 14

Number of workplace accidents

Answer 14

An indication of how safe the workplace is for employees

Question 15

Number of sales

Answer 15

The number of products sold

Question 16

Percentage of market share

Answer 16

The proportion of the total market that a business has, expressed as a percentage

Question 17

Lobby groups

Answer 17

Groups of people who attempt to directly influence or persuade an organisation to adopt particular policies

Question 18

Internal environment

Answer 18

All those things over which the organisation has some degree of control

Question 19

Objective

Answer 19

A desired goal, outcome or specific result that an organisation intends to achieve

Question 20

Level of wastage

Answer 20

The amount of waste created by the production process

Question 21

Ethical management

Answer 21

Abiding by moral standards and doing the ‘right’ thing in the interests of all stakeholders

Question 22

Efficiency

Answer 22

A measure of how well an organisation uses resources to achieve objectives

Question 23

Downsizing

Answer 23

Workplace staff reductions, with the elimination of jobs and positions

Question 24

Customers

Answer 24

The buyers or users of the products of a large-scale organisation

Question 25

Employee

Answer 25

A worker under an employer’s control. Control may involve the location of the workplace, the way in which the work is performed or the degree of the supervision involved. These criteria are critical in determining legal disputess over over the employment contract

Question 26

Customer survey

Answer 26

A measure of how satisfied customers are with the organisation’s performance

Question 27

Benchmarking

Answer 27

A process in which an organisation measures its performance against that of other leading organisation’s known for their excellence

Question 28

External environment

Answer 28

This includes things over which the business has little control. It may be divided into an operating environment and a macro environment.

Question 29

Competitors

Answer 29

Other organisations that offer rival products or services

Question 30

Effectiveness

Answer 30

The degree to which an organisation has achieved its stated objectives

Question 31

Research and development

Answer 31

Activities undertaken to improve existing products or create new products

Question 32

Marketing

Answer 32

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Question 33

Finance

Answer 33

The act of providing funds for business activities, making purchases or investing

Question 34

Operations

Answer 34

Operations management refers to the administration of business practices to create the highest level of efficiency possible within an organization. Operations management is concerned with converting materials and labor into goods and services as efficiently as possible to maximize the profit of an organization.

Question 35

Key Performance Indicators

Answer 35

A set of quantifiable measures that a company or industry uses to gauge or compare performance in terms of meeting their strategic and operational goals. KPIs vary between companies and industries, depending on their priorities or performance criteria.

Question 36

Profitability

Answer 36

Profitability is the ability of a business to earn a profit. A profit is what is left of the revenue a business generates after it pays all expenses directly related to the generation of the revenue

Question 37

Management

Answer 37

Management is commonly defined as the alignment and coordination of multiple activities in an organization. Business owners use management skills to accomplish the goals and objectives of their company.

Question 38

Profit

Answer 38

The amount that remains when the expenses are taken away from the revenue

Question 39

Human resource management

Answer 39

The effective management of the formal relationship between the employer and employees

Question 40

Customer complaints

Answer 40

An expression of dissatisfaction with a product or service, either orally or in writing, from an internal or external customer.