AEPA Business Education cheat sheet

Maslow's needs hierarchy, bottom to top: physiological, safety, social (belonging), esteem, self-actualization; lower-order needs must be met before higher ones motivate behavior.

McGregor's Theory X assumes workers avoid responsibility and require close control; Theory Y assumes work is natural and employees seek responsibility and self-direction.

SWOT analysis: strengths and weaknesses are internal and controllable by the firm; opportunities and threats are external and largely uncontrollable.

Lewin's change model = unfreeze (create readiness), change (implement the new way), refreeze (reinforce new norms so the change persists).

Tuckman's group development order: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning; conflict is characteristic of the storming stage.

Span of control: a narrow span produces a tall hierarchy with many layers; a wide span produces a flat structure with fewer layers and more delegation.

Unity of command means each employee reports to one supervisor; line authority gives direct orders down the chain of command, while staff authority only advises.

Sole proprietorship: owner bears unlimited personal liability but profits are taxed once as personal income; corporation: limited liability but dividends face double taxation.

Core business plan sections: executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, product/service line, marketing plan, financial projections.

Accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Owners' Equity; the equation must balance after every transaction.

Debits increase assets and expenses and decrease liabilities, equity, and revenue; credits do the reverse, so assets and expenses normally carry debit balances.

Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities; quick (acid-test) ratio = (cash + marketable securities + receivables) ÷ current liabilities.

Gross profit = net sales − cost of goods sold; gross margin percentage = gross profit ÷ net sales.

Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (unit price − unit variable cost); break-even sales dollars = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin ratio.

Straight-line depreciation = (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life; double-declining balance = 2 × straight-line rate × beginning book value.

Simple interest: I = P × r × t with t in years; compound amount: A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt), where n is compounding periods per year.

Closing entries zero the temporary accounts (revenues, expenses, withdrawals) and transfer the period's net result to retained earnings.

Trial balance debits must equal credits; unequal totals prove an error exists, but equal totals do not prove the ledger is error-free.

AIDA sequence: Attention → Interest → Desire → Action; each stage calls for different message content and media.

Core 4 Ps are Product, Price, Place, Promotion; services add People, Process, and Physical evidence (7 Ps).

Segmentation bases: demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioral; a usable segment must be measurable, accessible, substantial, and actionable.

Product life cycle stages: introduction (low sales, heavy promotion), growth (rising sales, new competitors), maturity (peak sales, price competition), decline (falling sales, reposition or divest).

Price skimming sets a high launch price to capture early adopters and recoup development costs; penetration pricing sets a low price to build share quickly.

Markup on cost = (price − cost) ÷ cost; margin on price = (price − cost) ÷ price; margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup).

Communication process: sender encodes a message, sends it through a channel, receiver decodes it, and feedback confirms understanding; noise can distort any step.

Sales process order: prospecting, preapproach, approach and presentation, handling objections, closing, follow-up service.

Demand is elastic when the percentage change in quantity demanded exceeds the percentage change in price; raising price then reduces total revenue.

Information system functions: input, processing, output, storage, and control/feedback that compares results against standards.

RAM is volatile working memory cleared at power-off; ROM is nonvolatile firmware; SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts, while HDDs use spinning platters.

Every spreadsheet formula begins with '='; relative references (A1) shift when copied, absolute references ($A$1) do not, mixed references ($A1) lock one part only.

Database vocabulary: a field is a column, a record is a row; a primary key uniquely identifies each record and a foreign key references another table's primary key.

Cloud service models: IaaS supplies raw infrastructure, PaaS supplies a development platform, SaaS supplies finished software accessed over the internet by subscription.

Malware types: a virus requires a host file, a worm self-replicates across networks, a trojan disguises itself as legitimate software, ransomware encrypts data for payment.

3-2-1 backup rule: three copies of data, on two different media, with one copy stored offsite.

E-commerce models: B2B, B2C, C2B, C2C; HTTPS/SSL encrypts data in transit but does not by itself prove the seller is reputable.

Multi-factor authentication combines something you know, something you have, and something you are; it blocks most credential-theft attacks such as phishing.

Law of demand: price and quantity demanded move in opposite directions; law of supply: price and quantity supplied move in the same direction.

Equilibrium is where supply and demand intersect; a price set above equilibrium creates a surplus, a price below creates a shortage.

GDP = C + I + G + (X − M); it counts final goods and services produced within a nation's borders during a period.

Business cycle phases: expansion, peak, contraction, trough; unemployment rises and inflation typically slows during a contraction.

CPI prices a fixed basket of consumer goods to measure inflation, which erodes purchasing power, especially for people on fixed incomes.

Elements of a valid contract: offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and legality; the statute of frauds requires writing for certain contracts such as land sales.

Negligence requires duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages; a single harmful act may be both a crime (public wrong) and a tort (private wrong).

Patents protect inventions for 20 years from filing; copyrights protect original expression; trademarks protect brand identifiers; trade secrets protect confidential formulas.

Federal Reserve monetary tools: open market operations, the discount rate, and reserve requirements; selling securities in the open market tightens credit and raises interest rates.