The Top 100 Most Important Words in Business English
sponsor
Businesses or organizations that pay for advertising.
merger
Combination of two or more companies into a single firm
quarter
One of four equal parts into which anything is or may be divided.
competitor
One who competes or is a rival of another business enterprise.
acquisition
The taking over the control of one company by another.
networking
Using contacts with friends and family members as a means of finding job leads
contract
a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
transaction
a business activity that changes assets, liabilities, or owner's equity
commercial
a commercially sponsored ad on radio or television
partnership
a contract between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses
agreement
a decision reached by two or more people or groups
income statement
a financial statement that gives operating results for a specific period
balance sheet
a financial statement that reports assets, liabilities, and owner's equity on a specific date
meeting
a formally arranged gathering
trademark
a formally registered symbol identifying the manufacturer or distributor of a product
party
a person involved in legal proceedings
entrepreneur
a person who organizes, manages, and takes on the risks of a business
consumer
a person who uses goods or services
downsizing
a planned reduction in the number of employees needed in a firm in order to reduce costs and make the business more efficient
status report
a report summarizing a group's past achievements and future goals
presentation
a show or display
account
a statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance
grant
a sum of money or other payment given for a particular purpose
budget
a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them
CV
a summary of your academic and work history
agenda
a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to
promotion
act of raising in rank or position
reach a consensus
all the people in a group agreeing on an idea or opinion
bonus
an additional payment (or other remuneration) to employees as a means of increasing output
liability
an amount owed by a business
strategy
an elaborate and systematic plan of action
company
an institution created to conduct business
non profit organization
an organization whose goals do not include making a personal profit for its owners or organizers
disruption
an unexpected event that throws a plan into disorder; an interruption that prevents a system or process from continuing as usual or as expected.
stakeholder
any group within or outside the organization that has a stake in the organization's performance
project
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
asset
anything of value that is owned
credit
arrangement for deferred payment for goods and services
c/o
care of
branding
combination of name, words, symbols, or design that identifies the product and its source and distinguishes it from competing brands
outsourcing
contracting out selected functions or activities of an organization to other organizations that can do the work more cost efficiently
opportunity cost
cost in terms of foregone alternatives
recruitment
finding new people to join an organization
telecommuting
involves working at home usually on a computer
resign
leave (a job, post, post, or position) voluntarily
Human Resources
maintains policies, plans, and procedures for the effective management of employees
social media
media whose content is created and distributed through social interaction
Venture Capital
money that is invested in new or emerging companies that are perceived as having great profit potential
staff
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
point of sale
places where goods are sold to the public - shops, stores, kiosks, market stalls, etc
investment
putting money into something in order to make a profit
wholesale
selling or related to selling goods in large quantities for resale to the consumer
shareholder
someone who holds shares of stock in a corporation
personnel
staff, employees, work force
business
the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects
overhead
the amount of money it takes to run a business
profit
the amount of money left over after expenses are taken out
terms
the amount of money needed to purchase something, Any of a variety of conditions attached to a financial transaction.
marketing
the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service
CEO
the corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm
customer service department
the department in a retail organization that handles customer inquiries and complaints
equity
the difference between the market value of a property and the claims held against it
sales department
the division of a business that is responsible for selling products or services
revenue
the entire amount of income before any deductions are made
objective
the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)
platform
the means of delivering a specific piece of media content
salary
the money paid for employee services
accounting
the occupation of maintaining and auditing records and preparing financial reports for a business
industry
the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise
deadline
the point in time at which something must be completed
interest
the price paid for the use of borrowed money
monetization
the process of converting something that once was free into a product that is sold
logistics
the process of strategically managing the efficient flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption
web 2.0
the read/write web; the second generation of web-based services and tools which make content creation on the web easier and more accessible to a wide variety of users
lien
the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged
information technology
the use of technology to move and process information
exchange rate
the value of a currency in one country compared with the value in another
market
the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
management
those in charge of running a business
multitask
to do more than one thing at the same time
launch
to officially start something
capital
wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value
inventory
(accounting) the value of a firm's current assets including raw materials and work in progress and finished goods
margin
(finance) the net sales minus the cost of goods and services sold
headquarters
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
cash flow statement
A financial statement that shows the flow of money in and out of the business.
board of directors
A group of people elected by the stockholders of a corporation to set the policies for the corporation.
startup
A new venture that is trying to discover a profitable business model for future success.
viral marketing
A strategy to get consumers to share a marketer's message, often through e-mail or online video, in a way that spreads dramatically and quickly
conference call
A synchronous virtual meeting in which participants meet at the same time via a voice-communication channel.
business plan
A written description of the business idea and how it will be carried out, including all major business activities.
loan
An amount of money given to the borrower for a set period of time. After the set time has passed, the money must be paid back plus the lending fee, called interest. Payments are normally made over a series of months.
operations
Performance of a practical work or of something involving the practical application of principles or processes
R&D
Research and Development: Business or government activity that is purposely designed to stimulate invention and innovation
manager
Someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that organizational goals can be accomplished
supply chain
The connected chain of all of the business entities, both internal and external to the company, that perform or support the logistics function
cost of sales
The cost of the inventory that the business has sold to customers.
CBA
The formal decision making process used when considering the economic feasibility of implementing information security controls and safeguards is called a(n) _____.
end user
The person or group who will use the product produced by the project.
scalable
The property of a network that allows you to add nodes or increase its size easily.