52 of the Business glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
The process of examining, cleaning, transforming and modelling data to discover useful information, draw conclusions and support decision-making, ranging from descriptive to predictive and prescriptive analysis.
A dedicated facility that houses computer servers, data storage and networking equipment, with the power, cooling and security needed to process and store data for one or many organisations.
The process of analysing large data sets with statistical and computational techniques to discover hidden patterns, relationships and trends that can inform business decisions.
A central store that combines data copied from many operational databases and other sources, organised for analysis and reporting rather than for day-to-day transactions.
An organised collection of structured data, stored electronically, that can be easily searched, sorted, updated, combined and analysed, usually held in linked tables of records and fields.
A long-term loan certificate (bond) issued by a company to investors, paying a fixed rate of interest and repaid on a stated date.
An efficiency ratio that measures the average number of days a business takes to collect money from its credit customers: debtors divided by total sales revenue, multiplied by 365.
Customers who have bought goods or services on credit and still owe the business money; shown as a current asset in the statement of financial position.
An organisational structure in which decision-making authority is spread from senior managers or head office to lower levels of the hierarchy, departments or branches.
A theory that people are most motivated, and most likely to be intrinsically motivated, when their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are satisfied.
A point in a decision tree, drawn as a square, at which the decision maker chooses between two or more options.
A diagram that sets out the options available in a decision, the possible outcomes of each with their probabilities and financial results, so that the expected value of each option can be calculated and compared.
The final stage of the product life cycle, in which sales and profits fall steadily, usually because tastes have changed or better products have replaced it.
A legal agreement between partners setting out the terms of the partnership, such as each partner's capital, the sharing of profits and losses, and how disputes are settled.
The percentage of total output that is faulty and fails to meet the required quality standard: defective units divided by total units produced, multiplied by 100.
An AO1 command term asking for the precise meaning of a word, phrase or concept, in a way that would be accepted without any example.
The decline in the relative importance of the secondary (manufacturing) sector in an economy, measured by its share of output or employment.
The removal of one or more levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure, usually layers of middle management, which widens the remaining spans of control.
The passing of authority to carry out a task or make a decision from a manager to a subordinate, while the manager keeps overall responsibility for the outcome.
A qualitative forecasting method in which a panel of experts answers questionnaires anonymously over several rounds, seeing a summary of the group’s answers after each round, until their forecasts converge.
The separation of part of a company into a new, independent company, usually with its own shares given to the original company's shareholders.
A leadership style in which the leader involves employees in decision-making by sharing information, discussing options and taking account of their views, with two-way communication.
A change in the size or structure of a population, such as its age profile, birth rate, life expectancy or ethnic composition.
Dividing a market according to measurable population characteristics such as age, gender, income, occupation, family size and ethnicity.
A reduction in an employee’s willingness to work hard or well, often caused by poor management, unfair treatment, job insecurity or unrewarding work.
A relationship between two tasks or activities in which one cannot start until another, its predecessor, has been completed.
The variable whose value is thought to depend on another variable, plotted on the vertical y-axis of a scatter diagram, such as sales revenue.
The fall in the value of a non-current asset over its useful life because of wear and tear, obsolescence or the passage of time, recorded as an expense in the accounts.
An AO1 command term asking for a detailed account of something, giving its main features without needing reasons or a judgment.
Numerical measures and charts that summarise and present the main features of a set of data, such as its typical value (average) and its spread.
A payment system, proposed by Taylor, in which workers who reach a standard output are paid a higher rate for every unit produced than workers who fall below the standard.
A generic strategy in which a business offers distinctive products to a narrow segment of a market whose special needs broad-market rivals do not fully meet.
A generic strategy in which a business aims to offer products seen as unique across a broad market, in ways customers value enough to pay a price premium.
The use of digital technology to standardise, measure and control work in detail, breaking jobs into simple tasks, setting targets and monitoring each worker continuously, as in Taylor’s scientific management.
A cost that can be clearly identified with and allocated to a particular product, service or department, such as the raw materials or labour used to make it.
Promotion that communicates directly with individual customers, for example by email, text message, post or app notification, usually using customer data.
The number by which a future cash flow is multiplied to find its present value, which depends on the discount rate and the number of years until the cash flow arrives.
The process of converting future cash flows into their present values, by reducing them to allow for the time value of money.
An AO3 command term asking for a considered and balanced review of a range of arguments or factors, ending in a clear conclusion supported by evidence.
Increases in average cost (cost per unit) that occur when a business, or an industry in an area, grows beyond a certain scale of operation.
The termination of an employee's contract by the employer because of the employee's conduct, capability or performance; often called being fired or sacked.
An innovation that creates a new market or enters the bottom of an existing one with a simpler, cheaper or more convenient product, and improves until it displaces established products and firms.
An AO2 command term asking for the differences between two or more concepts or items to be made clear.
The route by which a product passes from the producer to the final consumer, including any intermediaries involved.
A growth strategy in which a business sells new products in new markets; it is related when the new activity is linked to the existing business and unrelated when it is not.
A BCG strategy of selling or closing a product or business unit, usually a dog or a weak question mark, to free resources for more promising parts of the portfolio.
The part of a company's profit for the period that is paid out to shareholders, usually as an amount per share.
The situation in which the shareholders who own a company are not the managers who control its day-to-day decisions.
A product with a low relative market share in a slow-growing or declining market, which usually generates little cash and may be a candidate for withdrawal.
The internal and external factors that push an organisation towards a proposed change, such as new technology, competition, customer demand, cost savings or support from employees.
An activity with zero duration, drawn as a dashed arrow on a network diagram, which shows a dependency that ordinary arrows cannot show and uses no time or resources.
A pricing method in which the price of a product changes frequently, often automatically, according to current demand, supply and other market conditions.