Business 102 midterm
general agreement on tariffs and trade
a 1948 agreement that established an international forum for negotiating mutual reductions in trade restrictions
foreign subsidiary
a company owned in a foreign country by another company, called the parent company
embargo
a complete ban on the import or export of a certain product, or the stopping of all trade with a particular country
countertrading
a complex form of bartering in which several countries may be involved, each trading goods for goods or services for services
uniform commercial code
a comprehensive commercial law adopted by every state in the united states that covers sales laws and other commercial laws
patent
a document that gives investors exclusive rights to their inventions for 20 years
copyright
a document that protects a creators rights to materials such as books, articles, photos, paintings, and cartoons
trade surplus
a favorable balance of trade; occurs when the value of a country exports exceeds that of its imports
contract manufacturing
a foreign company's production of private-label goods to which a domestic company then attaches its brand name or trademark; part of the broad category of outsourcing
licensing
a global strategy in which a firm allows a foreign company to produce its products in exchange for a fee
contract
a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties
import quota
a limit on the number of products in certain categories that a nation can import
strategic alliance
a long term partnership between two or more companies established to help each company build competitive market advantages
planning
a management function that includes anticipating trends and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieve organizational goals and objectives
organization chart
a visual device that shows relationships among people and divides the organizations work; it shows who reports to whom
tort
a wrongful act that causes injury to another person's body, property, or reputation
North American free trade agreement (NAFT)
agreement that created a free trade among the United States, Canada, and Mexico
leading
creating a vision for the organization and guiding, training, coaching and motivating other to work effectively to achieve the organizations goals and objectives
external customers
dealers, who buy products to sell to others and ultimate customers (or end users) who buy products for their own personal use
precedent
decisions judges have made in earlier cases that guide the handling of new cases
enabling
giving workers the education and tools they need to make decisions
deregulation
government withdrawal of certain laws and regulations that seem to hinder competition
cross functional self managed teams
groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long term basis
sovereign wealth funds (SWF)
investment funds controlled by governments holding investments stakes in foreign companies
voluntary bankruptcy
legal procedures initiated by debtor
strict product liability
legal responsibility fro harm or injury caused by product regardless of fault
restructuring
redesigning an organisation so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers
conceptual skills
skills that involve the ability to picture the organization as a whole and the relationships among the various parts
consideration
something of value; consideration is one of the legal requirements of a legal contract
express warranties
specific representations by the seller that buyers rely on regarding the goods they purchase
objectives
specific, short-term statements detailing how to achieve the organizations goals
statutory law
state and federal constitutions, legislative enactments, treaties of the federal government and ordinances- in short written law
absolute advantage
the advantage that exists when a country produces a specific product more efficiently than all other countries
common law
the body of law that comes from decisions handed down by courts; also referred to as unwritten law
judiciary
the branch of government chosen to oversee the legal system through a system of courts
goals
the broad, long-term accomplishments an organization wishes to attain
foreign direct investment (FDI)
the buying of permanent property and businesses in foreign nations
balance of payments
the difference between money coming in to a country and money leaving the country plus money flow from other factors such as tourism, foreign aid, military expenditures, and foreign investment
departmentalization
the dividing of organizational functions into separate units
strategic planning
the process determining the major goals of the organization and the policies and strategies for obtaining and using resources to achieve those goals
tactical planning
the process of developing detailed, short-term statements about what is to be done, who is to do it, and how it is to be done
contingency planning
the process of preparing alternative courses of an action that may be used if the primary plans don't achieve the organizations objectives
operational planning
the process of setting work standards and schedules necessary to implement the company's tactical objectives
problem solving
the process of solving the everyday problems that occur. problem solving is less formal than decision making and usually calls for quicker action
organizational culture
widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals
digital natives
young people who have grown up using the internet and social networking
decision making
choosing among two or more alternatives
brainstorming
coming up with as many solutions to a problem as possible in a short period of time with no censoring of ideas
benchmarking
comparing an organizations practices, processes and products against the world's best
organizing
a management function that includes designing the structure of the organization and creating conditions and systems in which everyone and everything work together to achieve the organizations goals and objectives
staffing
a management function that includes hiring, motivating, and retaining the best people available to accomplish the company objectives
controlling
a management function that involves establishing clear standards to determine whether or not an organization is progressing toward its goals and objectives, rewarding people for doing a good job, and taking corrective action if they are not
joint venture
a partnership in which two or more companies join to undertake a major project
SWOT analysis
a planning tool used to analyze an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
common market
a regional group of countries that have a common external tariff, no internal tariffs, and a coordination of laws to facilitate exchange; also called a trading bloc. an example is the European Union
consumerism
a social movement that seeks to increase and strengthen the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers
hierarchy
a system in which one person is at the top of the organization and there is a ranked or sequential ordering from the top down of managers who are responsible to that person
tariff
a tax imposed on imports
virtual corporation
a temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed
vision
an encompassing explanation of why the organization exists and where it's trying to head
matrix organization
an organization in which specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together to work on specific projects but still remain part of the line and staff structure
decentralized authority
an organization structure in which decision making authority is delegated to lower level managers more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be
centralized authority
an organization structure in which decision making authority is maintained at the top level of management
flat organization structure
an organization structure that has few layers of management and a broad span of control
inverted organization
an organization that has contract people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom of the organization chart
line organization
an organization that has direct two way lines of responsibility, authority, and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with all people reporting to only one supervisor
multinational corporation
an organization that manufactures and markets products in many different countries and has multinational stock ownership and multinational management
bureaucracy
an organization with many layers of managers who set rules and regulations and oversee all decisions
tall organization structure
an organizational structure in which the pyramidal organization chart would be quite tall because of the various levels of management
mission statement
an outline of the fundamental purpose of the organization
trade deficit
an unfavorable balance of trade; occurs when the value of a country's imports exceeds that of its imports
involuntary bankruptcy
bankruptcy procedures filed by a debtors creditors
importing
buying products from another country
staff personnel
employees who advise and assist line personnel in meeting their goals
line personnel
employees who are part of the chain of command that is responsible for achieving organizational goals
administrative agencies
federal or state institutions and other government organizations created by congress or state legislatures with delegated power to create rules and regulations within their mandated area of authority
knowledge management
finding the right information, keeping the information in a readily accessible place and making the information known to everyone in the firm
negotiable instruments
forms of commercial paper that are transferable among businesses and individuals and represent a promise to pay a specified amount
implied warranties
guarantees concerning products legally imposed on the seller
taxes
how the government raises money
negligence
in tort law, behavior that causes unintentional harm or injury
internal customers
individuals and units within the firm that receive services from other individuals or units
PMI
listing all the pulses for a solution in one column, all the minuses in another, and the implications in a third
devaluation
lowering the value of a nation's currency relative to the other countries
supervisory management
managers who are directly responsible for supervising workers and evaluating their daily performance
product liability
part of tort law that holds businesses liable for harm that results from the production, design, or use of products they market
dumping
selling products in a foreign country at lower prices than those changed in the producing country
exporting
selling products to another country
contract law
set of laws that specify what constitutes a legally enforceable agreement
human relations skills
skills that involve communication and motivation; they enable managers to work through and with people
technical skills
skills that involve the ability to perform tasks in a specific discipline or department
top management
the highest level of management, consisting of the president, and other key company executives who develop strategic plans
world trade organization
the international organization that replaced the GATT and was assigned the duty to mediate trade dispute among nations
bankruptcy
the legal process by which a person, business, or government entity, unable to meet financial obligations, is relieved of those obligations by a court that divides any assets among creditors, allowing creditors to get at least part of their money and freeing the debtor to begin anew
middle management
the level of management that includes general managers, division managers, and branch and plant managers who we are responsible for tactical planning and controlling
chain of command
the line of authority that moves from the top of the hierarchy to the lowest level
damages
the monetary settlement awarded to a person who is injured by breach of contract
free trade
the movement of goods and services among nations without political or economic barriers
span of control
the optimal number of subordinates a manager supervises to should supervise
real time
the present moment or the actual time in which something takes place
management
the process used to accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling people and other organizational resources
business law
the rules, statutes, codes, and regulations that provide a legal framework for the conduct of business and that are enforceable by court action
economies of scale
the situation in which companies can reduce their production costs if they can purchase raw materials in bulk; the average cost of goods goes down as production levels increase
formal organization
the structure that details lines of responsibility, authority, and position; that is the structure shown on organization charts
informal organization
the system that develops spontaneously as employees meet and form cliques, relationships and lines of authority outside the formal organization
balance of trade
the total value of a nation's exports compared to its imports measured over a particular period
trade protectionism
the use of government regulations to limit the import of goods and services
exchange rate
the value of ones nations current relative to the currencies of other countries
comparative advantage theory
theory that states that a country should sell to other countries those products that it produces most effectively and efficiency, and buy from other countries those products that it cannot produce as effectively or efficiently
core competencies
those functions that the organization can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world
networking
using communications technology and other means to link organizations and allow them to work together on common objectives
breach of contract
when one party fails to follow the terms of a contract
