IB Business Management SL key terms

A written document setting out a firm's objectives, target market, operations, and financial forecasts for a set period, used to attract finance and to guide owners' decisions.

The part of an economy owned or controlled by government, such as state schools and hospitals, where objectives often include service quality and access rather than profit.

A short public declaration of an organisation's purpose and core values, intended to guide staff behaviour and communicate identity to customers and other interested parties.

A specific, measurable target an organisation sets to achieve within a stated time frame, derived from its overall aims and used to judge performance.

A goal framed to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, making it easier for managers to monitor progress and hold staff accountable.

Any individual or group affected by, or able to affect, an organisation's decisions, including owners, employees, customers, suppliers, lenders and the local community.

An organised group that campaigns to influence business or government behaviour on an issue such as environmental protection, aiming to change policy through publicity and lobbying.

A firm's voluntary commitment to act ethically towards society and the environment beyond legal minimums, often reported publicly and used to build reputation with customers and investors.

Operating in a way that meets present needs without depleting resources or harming conditions future generations depend on, covering environmental, social and economic dimensions of business activity.

Expansion achieved by increasing a firm's own sales, capacity or market share rather than by merging with or acquiring another business.

Falls in average cost per unit that arise as output rises, from factors such as bulk buying, specialist machinery and spreading fixed costs over more units.

The number of subordinates reporting directly to one manager; a wide span means looser supervision, a narrow span means closer control and more management layers.

The way a business arranges roles, authority and reporting lines, shown as a hierarchy or as flatter arrangements, determining who answers to whom and how decisions flow.

Removing one or more levels of management from a hierarchy to cut costs and speed up communication, usually widening spans of control and changing promotion prospects.

Passing authority for a task to a subordinate while the manager keeps overall accountability, used to develop staff and free senior time for wider duties.

The internal drive that makes an employee choose to work hard and persist towards goals; managers try to raise it through pay, recognition, responsibility and working conditions.

A formal review in which a manager assesses an employee's performance against agreed targets, gives feedback and sets development or training goals for the next period.

Planned activity to build employees' skills and knowledge, either on the job within normal work or off the job in courses, improving productivity and adaptability.

The proportion of a workforce that leaves and is replaced over a period, usually expressed as a percentage of average staff numbers; high rates raise recruitment costs.

Ending employment because a job is no longer needed, for example after restructuring or falling demand, rather than because of the individual's conduct or performance.

A table predicting cash inflows and outflows month by month to show expected closing balances, helping managers spot shortfalls early and arrange finance in advance.

The money available for day-to-day operations, calculated as current assets minus current liabilities; too little causes liquidity problems, too much may be idle.

A firm's ability to meet short-term debts as they fall due, depending on how quickly assets turn into cash and on the timing of obligations.

The output level at which total revenue equals total costs, giving neither profit nor loss; found by dividing fixed costs by contribution per unit.

The amount each unit sold leaves towards covering fixed costs and then generating profit, calculated as selling price minus variable cost per unit.

A cost that does not change with the level of output in the short run, such as rent or insurance, so it must be paid even when sales are low.

A cost that rises directly as output increases, such as raw materials or piece-rate wages, so total variable cost depends on the quantity produced.

Dividing a market into groups of buyers with similar characteristics or needs, such as by age, income or lifestyle, so that marketing can be tailored to each group.

The specific group of customers a business chooses to aim its product and marketing at, selected after segmentation because it offers the best fit and profit potential.

The combination of product, price, place and promotion decisions a firm controls to meet the needs of its target market and achieve marketing objectives.

The pattern of sales a product passes through from development and introduction to growth, maturity and decline, guiding decisions on pricing and promotional spending at each stage.

Systematic gathering and analysis of information about customers, competitors and markets, either primary data collected first-hand or secondary data from existing sources.

An approach that cuts waste in time, materials and effort while maintaining quality, using techniques such as just-in-time stock control and continuous improvement.

A stock method where materials arrive only as needed for production, reducing holding costs but leaving the firm exposed to supply delays.

A reserve of raw materials or finished goods held to absorb unexpected demand or supply disruption, protecting production at the cost of storage and tied-up capital.

Checking finished output against standards and rejecting or reworking faults, usually by inspectors at the end of the process rather than by workers themselves.

Building quality into every stage of production through agreed procedures and worker responsibility, aiming to prevent faults rather than detect them afterwards.

New data collected directly for the current investigation, for example through surveys, interviews or observation, giving specific answers at a relatively high cost.

Using data already gathered by others, such as government statistics or company reports, which is cheaper and quicker but may be dated or not fit the question asked.