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Expanding a business rapidly without obtaining all of the necessary finance so that a cash flow shortage develops

Money invested in a business or business project

Unpaid customer bills that are unlikely to ever be paid

Someone that arranges transaction between a supplier and customer usually over seas

The monitoring of debts to ensure that credit periods are not exceeded

People owed money by the business eg suppliers

A method of analysing the products in a firms portfolio based on relative market share and market growth

The point at which the number of total sales equals total costs. No profit or loss is made at the break even point

A long-term decision to purchase a particular product or service

Financial targets for the future covering revenue (income) and expenditure over a certain time period

The removal of layers of the hierarchy from an organisational structure

One or more features about a business product/service that gives it an advantage over it competitors (eg quality)

Specific targets set that a business aims to achieve

A decision made after careful consideration of the risks involved and the potential rewards

The maximum output that a firm can produce with existing resources

The use of a successful brand name to.launch a new or modified product in the market

The replacement of workers with machines to perform tasks in production

Recruiting people from outside your company

Recruiting people who are work in the business

there are specific and usually measurable objectives set for each operations activity of a business

Increases the level of responsibility within a job to make more challenging and rewarding.

Changing the nature of the role in order to increase motivation or reduce dissatisfaction at work.

Giving employees the power to do their job: trusting them, giving them the authority to make decisions and encouraging feedback from them

Varying an employee's job on a regular basis

expanding the number of tasks completed by an employee

Giving employees the knowledge, skills and technique necessary to fulfill the requirements of a job

is give as an initial preparation upon taking up a post. Its goal is to help new employees reach the level of performance expected from an experienced worker

Away from the place of work e.g. at a training centre of college

learning by doing the job, under guidance of an experienced member of staff or external trainer

the factors that inspire an employee to complete a task at work

ways in which businesses recruit the best candidate for an identified vacancy. These can be internal or external to the organisation and will depend upon the time available, the budget available and the specialist skills available in the oragnisation

A summary of the main duties and responsibilities associated with an identified job

identifies the skills, knowledge and experience a successful applicant is likely to have

How a business chooses the best candidate for a vacancy it has identified

The number of working days lost as a result of an employee's deliberate or habitual absence from work

using a supplier to manufacture part or all of a firms product or service

Materials or finished goods held by a firm as needed to supply customers demand

reorganisating resources to cut costs -often leading to a cut back in capacity.

when a business has a great production capacity than is likely to be used in the foreseeable future

Staff working beyond their contracted hours in exchange for a higher hourly wage

Is the proportion that the current output is of full capacity output.

The average cost per unit of output

a product or service that meets customers expectations and is therefore 'fit for purpose'

the expectations of customers expressed in terms of the minimum acceptable production or service standards

this is bases on inspection of the products or a sample of the products

this is a system of agreeing and meeting the quality standards at each stage of production to ensure consumer satisfaction

This is an internationally recognised certificate that acknowledges the existence of a quality procedure that meets certain conditions

An approach to quality that aims to involve all employees in the quality improvement system

these are links with the companies that supply a business with goods and service

The provision of service to customers before, during and after purchase to the standard that meets customer expectation

people within the organisation who depend upon the quality of work being done by other

agreements or contracts with suppliers that clearly lays down the service that they must provide

The use of electronic technology to gather, store, process and communicate information

computer controlled machine able to perform a physical task

production systems that prevent waste by using the minimum of non-renewable resources so that levels of production can be sustained in the future

creating and delivering products to solve consumer's needs

a feature or function of a product that makes it different to any other on the market

creating a perceived difference for a product in a competitive market

the path of a product from its introduction onto the market to its eventually disappearance from that market

analysing the existing product mix to help develop a balanced range of goods and services

Bringing a product or range pf products to the attention of existing and potential customers

offers designed to increase sales

The ways in which a business can communicate with its potential and existing customers with the aim of increasing sales

serving the needs of a business or businesses within one or more industries

all the stages in the production process from obtaining raw materials to selling to the consumer - from point of origin to point of consumption

Identifying and meeting customer needs

meeting the needs of a relatively small number of potential customers

anyone willing and with the financial ability to buy a product or service

the integration of a product, place, promotion and pricing designed to achieve the marketing objectives of the business

the visual presentation of a product to the consumer at the point of sale

a way of selling directly to the final consumer without another intermediary

Changing aspects f the goods and services to meet the changing needs of existing customers or to targets a different market

a set of related goods or services

the full range of products offered by a business also know as product portfolio

meeting the needs of a very large number of potential customers

long-term pricing plans which takes into account the objectives of the business and the value associated with the product

entering a market with a high price to attract early adopters and recoup high development costs

below market pricing to gain a foothold in an established and competitive market

The combination of promotional activities which make up a campaign to communicate with a target market

communicating with the media and other interested parties to enhance the image of the business and its products and thereby increasing sales

creating an identity for a business and its products to differentiate it from its rivals on the market

the use of media to communicate with consumers

a product that has significant market share and can influence market price

a firm which sets its prices to the same or similar level to those of dominant firm in the industry

the manipulation of price to achieve an short-term objective

Products sold at a loss than a cost to attract customers to a product range

pricing the use of odd number pricing to increase the value-for-money appeal of a product

the responsiveness of demand for a product to a change of its price

the demand for a product changes relatively less than a change in price

companies meeting the needs of other businesses in the market place

companies meeting the needs of final consumers of goods and services

where no intermediaries are used

organisations involved in the distribution of goods and services on behalf of other businesses

Method by which a product is sold to the customer

the number and the size of the businesses operating in a  given market be it local, regional, national or international

the nature of the product, the needs of consumers, the number of firms and the ease of entry to the market

characteristics that permit a firm to compete effectively with other businesses

discovering and using methods of competing which are distinct and offer consumers greater perceived value than those of rivals in the market

The number of layers of management and supervision existing in an a organisation

The lines of authority within the business

how information is passed up, down and across the organisation

the number of subordinates, one job/post holder is responsible for

how much work one employee, department and team have to complete in a given period of time

the task involved in a particular job

passing the authority to make specific decisions to somebody further down the organisational hierarchy

how information is passed around an organisation including downwards, upwards and sidewards and through the grapevine or gossip network

the tasks involved in a particular level or grade of job within an organisation

methods of measuring the effectiveness of employees including labour turnover and absenteeism

The percentage of the total workforce who leave in any give period

the contribution made by employees to the output of a business