Marketing: the business
function that aims to
identify, influence and
satisfy human wants
profitably.
Marketing plan: a detailed
statement of how a
company’s marketing mix
will be used to achieve its
marketing objectives.
Marketing Mix: the factors
controlled by a company
that can influence demand
for its products. The factors
are Product, Price,
Promotion and Place.
Design mix: the
combination of the three
factors (aesthetics,
functionality and economic
manufacture) needed in
designing a product.
Labor Intensive: production
methods in which a large
proportion of total costs
comprises labor costs.
Buffer stock: the minimum
level of stock that a firm
would want to keep in hand
at any time.
Lean management: a
business philosophy that
seeks to reduce all forms of
waste that does not add
value to the final product.
Marketing objectives: a goal
or target a business hopes
to achieve with its
marketing activities e.g.
increasing market share.
Marketing audit: a review of
an organization’s marketing
capabilities based on the
marketing department’s
strengths and weaknesses,
helping to decide how to
respond to opportunities
and threats.
Boston Matrix: a way of
analyzing a large portfolio
of a firm’s products in
terms of market share and
market growth, which helps
the firm to decide strategies
for individual products.
Design brief: the
requirements in terms of
look, function and ease of
manufacturing given to
designers by a firm when
designing a product.
Capacity utilization: the
current level of output as a
percentage of a firm’s
maximum possible output.
Re-order level: the level to
which stock must fall
before new stock is
ordered.
Just-in-Time: a production
system that minimizes the
level of stock held and the
time needed to complete an
order.
Marketing strategy: the
medium to long term plans
that a business uses to
achieve its marketing
objectives.
Product Life Cycle: a model
of a product’s sales over
time. It shows five stages:
Development,
Introduction, Growth,
Maturity and Decline, each
representing a different
opportunity for the
business.
Brand name: a trade name
used to identify a specific
product or firm.
Brand mark: a unique
symbol or logo that should
be recognizable to the
consumer as being part of
the brand.
Capital intensive:
production methods in
which the main costs are
those of raw materials and
the purchase and running
of capital equipment.
Stock Control: the
regulation of stock such
that stock is always
available when needed, but
without tying up too much
money.
Lead time: the time taken
between an order for stock
being placed, and the order
arriving. Also the time
taken to complete an order,
or to conceive, design and
produce a new product.
Quality: the features and
characteristics of a product
that enable it to fulfill
consumer wants
Quality Assurance: the
design and implementation
of systematic activities that
aims to prevent quality
problems from occurring.
TQM: an approach to
quality in which all elements
in a firm are geared towards
meeting the needs of the
customer, and are seen as
being in supplier-customer
relationships.
Budgetary variance: a
difference between a
budgeted figure and an
actual figure. A favourable
variance leads to higher
than expected profit.
Working capital: the part of
capital employed in the day-
to-day running of a
business, comprising
current assets less current
liabilities.
Chain of command: the
way in which decisions are
passed down from the top
of an organization to the
bottom.
Labour turnover: the ratio
of the number of people
leaving a firm to the
average number working in
the firm over a given time
period.
Time rate: a payment
system in which a worker is
paid per unit of time
worked.
Performance related pay: a
system in which workers
who have performed very
well (according to a
peformance appraisal) are
rewarded.
Quality Control: the Quality Circle: a technique
checking of output to that brings together
prevent poor quality output members of the workforce
from reaching the final to solve problems and put
consumer. forward ideas on improving
products and processes.
Budget: a target for costs, Zero-based budgeting:
revenues or profits that a setting a budget to zero,
firm, department or and then having a manager
employee must seek to justify all expenses.
achieve over time.
Cash flow: the amount of Cash flow forecast: a
cash being received and document showing all
expended by a business expected payments and
over a period of time. receipts of cash over a
period of time.
Contingency finance: cash Organizational structure:
kept aside to cope with the formal relationships
uncertain events that may between different people
occur in the future. within an organization,
showing how the people in
the firm are officially
related.
Span of control: the Motivation: a genuine
number of people under the desire of a worker to do a
direct control of a manager. given task.
Internal recruitment: filling Piecework: a payment
a job vacancy with a worker system in which a worker is
within the firm. paid a specific amount of
External recruitment: filling money per unit of output.
in a vacancy with a worker
from outside the firm.
Bonus: an extra payment Profit sharing: a system in
made to employees as a which workers get a share
reward for good work, or of any profits made by a
compensation for firm in a time period,
something e.g. dangerous usually in addition to basic
work. pay.
Delegation: giving the Consultation: a system in
responsibility and authority which employees are asked
to do a task to a for opinions and
subordinate. suggestions before a
decision is made.
Empowerment: giving a Enrichment: giving a Group norms: expectations
worker some freedom of worker a range of activities of a team as a whole about
how to complete a given and responsibilities, of workers within the team
task. varying levels of difficulty. e.g. whether the team values
hard work.
Job rotation: giving a
worker a range of tasks and
responsibilities, in the same
level of difficulty.