BUS 110 Mid Term

Example of a clear performance standard

"My goal is to increase my running distance from two miles a day to four miles a day by January 1."

Partnership agreements

1. Master Limited Partnership: looks and acts like a corporation, but is taxed like a partnership 2. Limited Liability Partnership: limits partners' risk of losing their personal assets to the outcomes of only their acts

Four types of unemployment

1. frictional: people who quit work b/c they didn't like the job/boss and haven't found a new job 2. structural: caused by the restructuring of firms 3. cyclical: occurs b/c of a downturn in the business cycle-most serious type 4. seasonal: occurs where demand for labor varies

Reasons why people start their own business

1. opportunity 2. profit 3. independence 4. challenge

Character traits of successful entrepreneurs

1. self-directed 2. self-nurturing 3. action-oriented 4. highly energetic 5. tolerant of uncertainty

Reasons why small businesses fail

1. underpricing/overpricing 2. starting with too much/little capital 3. forgetting about taxes, insurance, etc. 4. going in with little experience

Three major types of corporate mergers

1. vertical merger ex. soft drink & sugar 2. horizontal merger: soft drink & water 3. conglomerate merger: soft drink & chips

ISO 9000 / ISO 14000

ISO 9000: common name given to quality management and assurance standards ISO 14000: a collection of the best practices for managing an organization's impact on the environment

Advantages / Disadvantages of Corporations / Sole proprietorships

Sole Proprietorships- advantages 1. ease of starting/ending the business 2. being your own boss 3. pride of ownership 4.leaving a legacy 5. retention of company profits 6. no special taxes Sole Proprietorships- disadvantages 1. unlimited liability 2. limited financial resources 3. management difficulties 4. overwhelming time commitment 5. few fringe benefits 6. limited growth 7. limited life span Corporations- advantages 1. limited liability 2. ability to raise more money for investment 3. size 4. perpetual life 5. ease of ownership change 6. ease of attracting talented employees 7. separation of ownership from managment Corporations- disadvantages 1. initial cost 2. extensive paperwork 3. double taxation 4. two tax returns 5. size 6. difficulty of termination 7. possible conflict with stakeholders/ board of directors

Adam Smith

a Scottish economist that envisioned creating more resources so that everyone could become wealthier

Gantt Chart

a bar graph that clearly shows what projects are being worked on and how much has been completed at any given time

Sole proprietorship

a business owned, and usually managed, by one person

MRP

a computer-based operations management system that uses sales forecasts to make sure needed parts and materials are available at the right time and place

Franchising

a contractual agreement whereby someone with a good idea for a business sells others the rights to use the business name and sell a product or service in a given territory in a specified manner

Business plan

a detailed written statement that describes the nature of the business, the target market, the advantages the business will have over competition, and the resources and qualifications of the owners

Corporation

a legal entity with authority to act and have liability apart from its owners

Entrepreneur

a person who risks time and money to start and manage a business

Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award

a standard for overall company quality award, named in honor of a former US Secretary of commerce

Social audit

a systematic evaluation of an organization's progress toward implementing socially responsible and responsive programs

Insurance agents - information regarding risks

a valuable source of information regarding techniques to reduce a firm's exposure to risk

Generation Yers

a.k.a Millennials or echo boomers, born between 1980 and 1995

A key to effective leadership

able to motivate workers and create an environment for them to motivate themselves

Staff personnel

advise and assist line personnel in meeting their goals, and include those in marketing research, legal advising, information technology, and human resource management

General partners

an owner who has unlimited liability and is active in managing the firm

Limited partners

an owner who invests money in business but does not have any management responsibility or liability for losses beyond his or her investment

SWOT

analyzes the organization's strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats it faces, usually in that order

Business

any activity that seeks to provide goods and services to others while operating at a profit

The first step in establishing training and development programs

assessing organization needs and employee skills to determine training needs

Importing

buying products from another country

Preparation for starting your own business

choose which characteristics matter most; learn from others; get experience; take over a successful firm; write a business plan

Euro

common currency of the European Union

Benchmarking

compares an organization's practices, processes, and products against the world's best

Market

consists of consumers with unsatisfied wants and needs who have both resources and willingness to buy

NAFTA

created a free-trade area among the United States, Canada, and Mexico

Intrapreneur

creative people who work as entrepreneurs within corporations

Microeconomics

economics- looks at the behavior of people and organizations in markets for particular products or services

Macroeconomics

economics- the operation of a nation's economy as a whole

Ultimate resource of a firm

employees

Perfect competition

exists when there are many sellers in a market and none is large enough to dictate the price of a product

Extrinsic rewards

given to you by someone else as a recognition for good work

Flextime

gives employees some freedom to choose which hours to work, as long as they work the required number of hours or complete their assigned tasks

Line organization

has direct two-way lines of responsibility, authority, and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with everyone reporting to only one supervisor

Fringe benefits

include sick-leave pay, vacation pay, pension plans, and health plans that provide additional compensation to employees beyond based wages

Planning

includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives

Human relations skills

includes communication and motivation; they enable managers to work through and with people

Theory Z

includes long-term employment, collective decision making, individual responsibility for the outcomes of decisions, slow evaluation and promotion, moderately specialized career paths, and holistic concern for employees

Whistleblower

insiders who report illegal or unethical behavior

Participative leadership

involves managers and employees working together to make decisions

Operations Management

is a specialized area in management that converts or transforms resources, including human resources like technical skills and innovation, into goods and services

Staffing

is recruiting, hiring, motivating, and retaining the best people available to accomplish the company's objectives

Purchasing

is the function that searches for high-quality material resources, finds the best suppliers, and negotiates the best price for quality goods and services

Herzberg's motivation and hygiene factors

job factors that cause employees to be productive and that give them satisfaction, or job factors that can cause dissatisfaction if missing but that do not necessarily motivate employees if increased

Just-in-Time

keeps a minimum of inventory on the premises, and delivers parts, supplies, and other needs just in time to go on the assembly line

Cafeteria-style plan

lets employees choose the benefits they want up to a certain dollar amount

On-the-job training

lets the employee learn by doing, or by watching others for a while and then imitating them, right at the workplace

Advantages of technology

makes job more productive, increases effctiveness

Job rotation

makes work more interesting and motivating by moving employees from one job to another

360-degree review

management gathers opinions from all around the employee, including those under, above, and on the same level, to get an accurate, comprehensive idea of the worker's abilities

McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y

managers' attitudes generally fall into one of two entirely different sets of managerial assumptions

Inequity in the workplace

may lead to lower productivity, reduced quality, increased absenteeism, and voluntary resigntion

Leading

means creating a vision for the organization and communicating, guiding, training, coaching, and motivating others to achieve goals and objectives in a timely manner

Control of the money supply

monetary policy: management of the money supple and interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank

Loss

occurs when a business's expenses are more that its revenues

Decentralized authority

occurs when decision making is delegated to lower-level managers and employees more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be

Monopoly

occurs when one seller controls the total supply of a product or service, and sets the price

Strike

occurs when workers collectively refuse to go to work; the most potent union tactic

Business incubators

offer new businesses in the critical stage of early development low-cost offices with basic services such as accounting, legal advice, and secretarial help

Commission sales

pay based on some percentage of sales, often used to compensate salespeople

Angel investors

private individuals who invest their own money in potentially hot new companies before they go public

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

prohibits discrimination in firing, hiring, compensation, apprenticeships, training, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based on race, religion, creed, sex, or national origin

Assembly Process

puts together components to make a product

Hawthorne effect

refers to people's tendency to behave differently when they know they're being studied

Culture

refers to the set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people

Sexual harassment

refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile work environment

Exporting

selling products to another country

Franchisee

someone buying the rights to use a business name and sell a product in a given territory

Franchisor

someone with a good idea for a business

Management by Objectives

system of goal setting and implementation includes a cycle of discussion, review, and evaluation of objectives among top and middle-level managers, supervisors, and employees

Success in today's business markets

technology, E-commerce growth, good customer service

Technical skills

the ability to perform tasks in a specific discipline or department

Employee orientation

the activity that initiates new employees into the organization

Profit

the amount of money a business earns above and beyond what it spends for salaries and other expenses needed to run the operation

Productivity

the amount of output you generate given the amount input, such as the number of hours you work

Risk

the chance an entrepreneur takes of losing time and money on a business that may not prove profitable

Bartering

the exchange of merchandise for merchandise or service for service with no money traded

Facility Layout

the physical arrangement of resources, including people, to most efficiently produce goods and provide services for customers

Empowerment

the process of allowing workers to make other decisions essential to producing high-quality goods and services

Lean Manufacturing

the production of goods using less of everything than in mass production

Filling a position using an internal source

the promotion of a current employee to a new job

Core competencies

the remaining functions a firm can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world

Critical Path

the sequence of tasks that takes the longest time to complete

Demographics

the statistical study of the human population with regard to its size, density, and other characteristics such as age, race, gender, and income

Exchange rate

the value of one nation's currency relative to the currencies of other countries

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

theory of motivation based on unmet human needs from basic physiological needs to safety, social, and esteem needs to self-actualization needs

World class organizations

they attempt to meet the needs of all of their stakeholders

Focus on customers

today's customers not only want good quality at low prices, but also great service

Insider trading

uses private company information to further insiders' own fortunes or those of their family and friends

Exit interviews

when an outside expert talks to a valuable leaving employee to determine their reasons for leaving

Partnership

when two or more people legally agree to become co-owners of a business

Knowledge and skills acquired in business courses

will be useful if they work for any organization that produces goods and services, including nonprofit and volunteer organizations as well as businesses