65 of the Business glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A branch of artificial intelligence in which computer systems learn to make predictions or decisions from patterns in data, improving with experience, instead of following rules written by a programmer.
A comparison of the cost of producing a good or service within the business with the cost of buying it from an outside supplier, together with qualitative factors, to decide which to do.
The process of planning, organising, directing and controlling an organisation’s resources so that it achieves its objectives efficiently and effectively.
An approach to management, introduced by Peter Drucker, in which managers and employees agree specific objectives for each person and team that support the organisation’s overall objectives, and review performance against them.
An organised system of people, hardware, software, data and procedures that collects, stores and processes data from inside and outside a business and gives managers information to plan, control and make decisions.
Reductions in average cost from employing specialist managers, whose expertise improves efficiency and whose salaries are spread over a large output.
An approach to managing change that uses selective information, or gives the leaders of resisting groups a symbolic role in the change, to win support without genuine involvement.
A branding approach in which the producer sells products under its own brand name through many different retailers.
The amount by which actual or forecast output exceeds the break-even quantity, showing how far sales could fall before the business makes a loss.
The amount added to the unit cost of a product to set its price, usually expressed as a percentage of the unit cost.
A range of marks, such as 7–8, with a description of the qualities an answer must show to be placed in it; extended responses are marked by finding the best-fitting band.
Any place or system, physical or online, where buyers and sellers come together to exchange a particular good or service.
A published report on a particular market, usually by a specialist research firm, giving secondary data such as its size, growth, market shares, trends and forecasts.
The total market value of a publicly held company's shares, found by multiplying the current share price by the number of shares issued.
The degree to which sales in a market are controlled by a small number of the largest businesses, often measured by a concentration ratio.
A growth strategy in which a business sells its existing products in new markets, such as new geographical areas, new market segments or new distribution channels.
The percentage change in the size of a market over a period, calculated by comparing current market size with market size in the previous period.
The percentage change in the total sales of a market over a period, usually a year, used as the vertical axis of the Boston Consulting Group matrix.
The business or brand with the largest market share in a particular market, measured by value or by volume of sales.
An outward-looking approach in which a business uses market research to find out what customers want and then develops and markets products to meet those needs.
A growth strategy in which a business aims to increase sales of its existing products in its existing markets, usually by raising its market share.
The process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information about a market, its customers and competitors, in order to make better marketing decisions.
An identifiable group of customers within a market who share similar characteristics or needs and respond in a similar way to a marketing mix.
The process of dividing a market into distinct groups of customers who have similar characteristics, needs or buying behaviour.
The total sales of all businesses in a market over a given period, measured either by value (sales revenue) or by volume (units sold).
The management process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers' needs and wants profitably, by deciding what to offer, at what price, where and how to promote it.
Reductions in average cost from spreading the fixed costs of advertising, promotion and distribution over a larger volume of sales.
The combination of elements, product, price, promotion and place (and for services people, processes and physical evidence), that a business uses to market a product to its target market.
The specific targets of the marketing function, such as sales, market share or brand awareness, which support the organisation's overall objectives.
A document that sets out a business's marketing objectives and the strategies, marketing mix, budget and timeline it will use to achieve them over a given period.
The systematic process of analysing a business's marketing position, setting marketing objectives, and choosing the strategies, actions, budget and timescale needed to achieve them.
A medium- to long-term plan of how a business will achieve its marketing objectives, based on its target market, its intended position against competitors and the marketing mix that supports it.
The document examiners use to mark a paper, setting out acceptable answers, how marks are awarded for each part and, for extended responses, the markbands.
The extent to which a society is driven by competition, achievement and success (masculinity) rather than by caring for others and quality of life (femininity); also called motivation towards achievement and success.
A theory that people are motivated by five levels of need (physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation), each becoming the main motivator once the levels below are largely satisfied.
A method of production that combines the high volume and low unit costs of mass production with the ability to tailor each product to an individual customer’s choices, usually using flexible technology.
A large market in which products are aimed at most customers, with little or no difference between segments, and are sold in high volumes.
A method of production in which large quantities of standardised products are made continuously, each unit moving from one stage to the next along a production line.
An organisational structure in which employees report to two managers at once, a functional manager and a project or product manager, so that teams from different departments work together on projects.
The stage of the product life cycle in which sales are at or near their peak but grow slowly, competition is strongest and profit and cash flow are usually highest.
The highest level of stock a business plans to hold, reached when a delivery arrives; the buffer stock plus the reorder quantity.
A theory that people are motivated by three needs learned through experience, the needs for achievement, affiliation and power, and that the dominant need differs between individuals.
The sum of all the values in a data set divided by the number of values; the arithmetic average.
The middle value of a data set when the values are arranged in order of size; with an even number of values, the mean of the two middle values.
The method or channel through which a message is sent, such as a meeting, a telephone call, an email, a report, a video call or a notice board.
The agreement of two businesses, usually of similar size, to combine into a single new business owned by the shareholders of both.
The information, instruction or idea that a sender transmits to a receiver; an effective message is accurate, clear, complete and suited to its audience.
The account, in the introduction of a research project, of how the research was carried out: which primary and secondary sources were used, how they were chosen, and their limitations.
The ways in which a business can begin selling in a foreign market, from exporting and e-commerce through licensing, franchising and joint ventures to acquisitions and wholly owned subsidiaries.
Financial services, mainly small loans, provided to people on low incomes who cannot obtain credit from traditional banks, usually to start or expand a small business.
A significant event or checkpoint in a project, such as the completion of a phase or a launch date, which has no duration and is shown as a point, usually a diamond, on a Gantt chart.
The lowest level of output at which a business achieves the lowest possible average cost on its long-run average cost curve.
The lowest hourly rate of pay that employers are legally allowed to pay their workers, set by the government.
The process by which a social enterprise or NGO gradually moves away from its original social or environmental purpose, often under financial pressure or as it grows.
A short statement of an organisation's current purpose, setting out what it does, for whom it does it and the values that guide how it does it.
An economy in which resources are allocated partly by private sector businesses through markets and partly by the government through the public sector.
The value or category that occurs most often in a set of data.
The process in which IB examiners re-mark a sample of a school's internally assessed work and adjust the teacher's marks if they are out of line with the IB standard.
A long-term loan to buy land or buildings, secured on the property, which the lender can take if repayments are not made.
The internal and external forces that cause a person to act, and that determine the direction, intensity and persistence of their effort towards a goal.
Aspects of the work itself, such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, interesting work, advancement and personal growth, which create job satisfaction and motivate employees, according to Herzberg.
The average of a fixed number of consecutive values in a time series, recalculated as the group moves forward one period at a time, used to smooth out short-term variations and show the trend.
A business that has its headquarters in one country (its home country) and owns and controls operations, such as factories or offices, in at least one other country.
A form of observation in which a researcher acts as an ordinary customer to assess the quality of service, products and staff behaviour of a business or its competitors.