BSEH SS Business Studies flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Management definition

The process of getting things done through others to achieve organisational goals effectively and efficiently, involving planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling.

Efficiency vs effectiveness

Efficiency means doing a task at minimum cost with minimum resources; effectiveness means completing the task and achieving the goal on time.

Levels of management

Top management sets objectives and policy, middle management interprets policy and sets departmental targets, and supervisory management oversees day-to-day work of operatives.

Coordination

The deliberate, continuous integration of group efforts to ensure unity of action across all functions and levels; it is the essence of management, not a separate function.

Scientific management

Taylor's approach applying scientific methods to work: time, motion, method, and fatigue study, standardisation, and differential piece wages to raise efficiency.

Differential piece wage

A wage system paying a higher rate per unit to workers who produce above the standard and a lower rate to those below, rewarding efficiency.

Unity of command

Fayol's principle that each subordinate should receive orders from and be accountable to only one superior, preventing confusion and conflicting instructions.

Gang plank

Fayol's shortcut allowing two employees at the same level in different chains to communicate directly in an emergency, bypassing the scalar chain.

Functional foremanship

Taylor's system of eight specialist foremen - four for planning and four for production - each supervising a separate aspect of the worker's task.

Business environment

The sum of external forces - economic, social, technological, political, legal, and natural - that surround and influence a firm's operations and decisions.

Liberalisation

Removal or relaxation of government restrictions on business, such as licensing and controls, opening sectors to greater private participation and competition.

Environmental scanning

The continuous process of monitoring, collecting, and analysing external information to identify opportunities and threats before they fully materialise.

Planning definition

Deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when, and by whom; it bridges the gap between where a firm is and where it wants to be.

Planning premise

An assumption about the future environment on which plans are based, such as forecasts of demand, price, or government policy.

Policy vs rule

A policy is a general guide to thinking and decision-making with room for discretion; a rule is a specific, mandatory statement with no discretion.

Strategy

A comprehensive plan for achieving objectives that defines the firm's direction and how it will respond to its competitive environment.

Organisational structure

The framework of reporting relationships and authority that determines how activities are grouped and coordinated; can be functional or divisional.

Delegation elements

Delegation involves authority (right to command), responsibility (obligation to perform), and accountability (answerability); authority can be delegated, accountability cannot.

Decentralisation

The systematic dispersal of decision-making authority to lower levels throughout the organisation, extending delegation beyond individual managers.

Informal organisation

The network of social relationships arising spontaneously among employees, not governed by formal rules but influencing behaviour and communication.

Recruitment vs selection

Recruitment is a positive process of attracting and searching for candidates; selection is a negative process of rejecting unsuitable applicants to choose the best.

Training vs development

Training is short-term and job-oriented, improving skills for the current job; development is long-term and career-oriented, fostering overall employee growth.

Vestibule training

An off-the-job method where a replica of the actual workplace is set up and trainees learn on identical equipment before entering the real job.

Maslow's hierarchy

A motivation theory arranging needs from lower to higher: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualisation; lower needs are satisfied first.

Hygiene factors

Herzberg's factors such as pay, working conditions, and job security whose absence causes dissatisfaction but whose presence does not create motivation.

Leadership styles

Autocratic leaders decide alone, democratic leaders involve subordinates in decisions, and laissez-faire leaders give subordinates full freedom to decide.

Controlling process

Setting performance standards, measuring actual performance, comparing it with standards, analysing deviations, and taking corrective action where needed.

Management by exception

A control principle under which managers attend only to significant deviations from standards, leaving routine, minor variations to subordinates.

Capital budgeting

The process of evaluating and selecting long-term investment proposals, using techniques such as NPV, IRR, payback period, and profitability index.

Net present value

The difference between the present value of a project's cash inflows and outflows; a positive NPV means the project adds value and should be accepted.

Working capital

The funds required for day-to-day operations, calculated as current assets minus current liabilities and affected by the operating cycle and credit terms.

Primary vs secondary market

The primary market issues new securities directly to investors; the secondary market trades existing securities among investors through stock exchanges.

SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the regulator that protects investors, regulates market intermediaries, and promotes orderly development of the securities market.