As Business, Ocr F292 Key Terms

Front 1

Customer orientation

Back 1

An approach to sales and customer-relations in which staff focus on helping customers to meet their long-term needs and wants.

Front 2

Product orientation

Back 2

A product-orientated firm has its primary focus on its product and on the skills, knowledge and systems that support that product.

Front 3

Segmentation

Back 3

Splitting up a market into different types (segments) to enable a business to better target its products to the relevant customers.

Methods include demographic, behavioural, psycho-graphic and geographic.

Front 4

Market share

Back 4

The proportion of a market controlled by a particular business or product.

Front 5

Market growth

Back 5

An increase in the demand for a particular product or service over time.

Front 6

Marketing strategy

Back 6

A statement of how objectives will be delivered, explaining what marketing actions and resources will be used and how they'll work together.

Front 7

Budget

Back 7

A future plan which sets out a business's financial targets.

Front 8

Budgeting

Back 8

The preparation of budgets -- making and monitoring them.

Front 9

Cash flow forecast

Back 9

An estimation of the cash inflows and outflows for a business or individual for a specific period of time.

Front 10

Marginal cost

Back 10

The change in total cost that arises when the quantity produced changes by one unit.

Front 11

Direct costs

Back 11

The materials, labour and expenses relating to the production of a product.

Front 12

Indirect costs

Back 12

Costs that are not directly accountable to a cost object.

Front 13

Overhead

Back 13

All costs on the income statement except for direct labour, direct materials, and direct expenses.

Front 14

Contribution

Back 14

The amount left after variable costs have been deducted from total revenue.

Front 15

Payback period

Back 15

The length of time required to cover the cost of an investment.

Front 16

Balance sheet

Back 16

Provides a snapshot of a business's value at a certain point in time by summarising all its liabilities and assets.

Front 17

Labour turnover

Back 17

The proportion of a firm's workforce that leaves during the course of a year.

Front 18

Motivation theory: Taylor

Back 18

- Workers only work for pay and don't naturally enjoy work.

- Giving people sub-tasks and paying them per product produced (piece-rate pay).

- Theory X: Employees have to be monitored.

Front 19

Motivation theory: Mayo

Back 19

- Workers aren't just motivated by money but can be more motivated if social needs are met.

- This can come from better communication, better manager involvement and working in teams.

Front 20

Motivation theory: Maslow

Back 20

- Believed in the hierarchy of needs containing 5 levels. Basic needs such as shelter and food are at the bottom and, once the lower levels have been satisfied, workers move up to the next level.

- Businesses should, therefore, offer incentives aimed at the different levels in the hierarchy.

Front 21

Motivation theory: Herzberg

Back 21

Believed in a 2-factor motivation theory with motivators and hygiene factors.

- Motivators directly affect motivation, e.g. promotion and extra responsibility.

- Hygiene factors only negatively affect motivation if they're not present, e.g. reasonable pay and working conditions.

Front 22

Motivational theory: Druncker

Back 22

Setting objectives is an important method of motivation as it allows employees to measure their performance.

Front 23

Motivational theory: Peters

Back 23

Employees should have a sense of recognition and be involved with all aspects of the business, with financial incentives and job security.

Front 24

Job enlargement

Back 24

Workers should be given a variety of tasks to perform, which should make work more interesting.

Front 25

Job enrichment

Back 25

Involve workers in more interesting, complex and challenging tasks to give a greater sense of achievement.

Front 26

Job rotation

Back 26

The movement of employees through a range of jobs in order to increase interest and motivation.

Front 27

Job empowerment

Back 27

Delegating more power to employees to make their own working decisions.

Front 28

Management by objectives

Back 28

A management model that aims to improve performance by clearly defining objectives that are agreed to by both the management and employees.

Front 29

Delegation

Back 29

The assignment to others of authority for particular functions, tasks and decisions.

Front 30

Autocratic leadership

Back 30

A leadership style in which the leader dictates policies and procedures, decides what goals are to be achieved, and directs and controls all activities without any meaningful participation by the subordinates.

Front 31

Paternalistic leadership

Back 31

Acting as a father figure by taking care of their subordinates as a parent would. In this style of leadership the leader supplies complete concern for his followers or workers.

Front 32

Democratic leadership

Back 32

Involves a team guided by a leader where all individuals are involved in the decision-making process to determine what needs to be done and how it should be done.
The group's leader has the authority to make the final decision of the group.

Front 33

Laissez-Faire leadership

Back 33

Try to give the least possible guidance to subordinates, and try to achieve control through less obvious means.

Believe that people excel when they are left alone to respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways.

Front 34

Span of control

Back 34

The number of employees for whom a manager is responsible.

Front 35

Chain of command

Back 35

The lines of authority within a business.

Front 36

Levels of hierarchy

Back 36

The number of layers of management or supervision in the organisational structure.

Front 37

Delayering

Back 37

Removing layers of management from a hierarchy.

Front 38

Centralised structure

Back 38

Keeps decision-making firmly at the top of the hierarchy (among senior management).

Front 39

Decentralised structure

Back 39

Decision-making is spread to include more managers in a hierarchy, as well as individual business units or trading locations.