Glossary of Business and Management Terms

By James Persaud

The Glossary of Business and Management Terms is a well-researched and insightful book of business and management definitions. They are listed alphabetically and cross-referenced in a clear, concise and easy to understand format.

The book contains over 3,700 terms all taken from subjects which flow into the vast arena of business and management. It is informative and illuminating and provides the interconnectivity and substance which every resourceful and enterprising manager, business student or discerning member of the public will find indispensable.

In essence, the book will serve as a compass to help navigate and unfurl the sometimes unfamiliar and confusing terminology that has become all too pervasive in today’s dynamic business and management environment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664179660

James Persaud

James Persaud was born in Trinidad and received his early education there. Later, he moved to the UK and to the US where he both worked and studied.. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Open University, England and his Masters degree in Social Science from Syracuse University, New York. He is also a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK and holds a Diploma in Computer Technology from New York University, New York. James taught High School in Trinidad for seven years. In London worked as an established Civil Servant with the Board of Trade for ten years before joining the multinational firm Berger, Jenson and Nicholson in the UK as a Marketing Executive. He was transferred to Trinidad and Tobago as Marketing Manager of Berger Paints Trinidad Limited, and later headed the Marketing divisions of Barclays Bank International Trinidad, Dansteel Limited and the Trinidad Express Newspapers Limited. In addition, James has worked in the Litigation departments of several law firms on Wall Street and in the Telecommunications division of the State of Florida Department of Health. He has taught English as a Second Language (ESOL) in the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida since 1999. James is the founder, President and CEO of Datacom Management Consultants Limited, a company through which he did consultancy work. He has also authored the book: Glossary of Business and Management Terms which was first published in 2010 and updated and expanded in 2013. James lives in Boynton Beach, Florida with his wife, Janet and daughter, Ariella.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by James Persaud.

Updated and Expanded edition 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/10/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

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Contents

More Praise for

Glossary of Business and Management Terms

Preface to the Updated and Expanded Edition

The Author

Glossary of Business and

Management Terms

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Dedication . . . .

This book is dedicated to my children Dave, Caron and especially Ariella, whose undying love continues to fill me with untold inspiration daily

and

to the Memory of my parents whose stay on earth was not long enough to allow them to embrace the rewards of their labor.

----------------------oooooOOOooooo----------------------

I dedicate this updated and expanded edition of my book to my wife, Janet for her generous support and encouragement. Thank you for all that you do.

More Praise for

Glossary of Business and Management Terms

A book that is gold to job hunters. Carolyn Di Paolo - Real Money Editor - The Palm Beach Post.

A book that comprehensively covers a wide range of business and economic jargon that is in everyday use in the spheres of business, economics and finance. Raphael John-Lall - Business Guardian.

The easy reading definitions are outlined with clarity. Theron Boodan - Newsday Newspaper.

A book written not just for students of business but especially for people who are not in the field and need a clear understanding . . . of the technical jargon used in the business world. Abby Brathwaite - Business Express.

a great reference source to have handy around the office. Arminda Mindy Figueroa - Founder and President Latin2Latin Marketing + Communications, LLC Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

wish it was available when I was in Grad School. Congrats on a job WELL done. Professor La-Vaughn Starks - Chief Financial Officer MTG Consultants, Inc, Riviera Beach, Florida.

Preface to the Updated and Expanded Edition

When I wrote the Glossary of Business and Management Terms, first published in 2010, the intent was to provide practitioners, managers, students and others with definitions of both familiar and less well-known terms and jargons that are inherent in today’s dynamic business and management environment.

The objective of this well-researched and insightful publication remains the same in the updated and expanded 2013 edition.

Based on excellent feedback and suggestions from readers I have updated terms, such as President, CEO and Managing Director, out of pocket and turnover, to name a few, to show the differences between US and UK usage. In addition, I have added terms and acronyms frequently used in the globalized nature of the business community, e.g., WTO, ASEAN, BRIC, SBU, JIT, six sigma, transfer price and matrix organizations, to reinforce the relevance of international organizations with the business world.

The Glossary of Business and Management Terms contains:-

• over 3,000 business and management terms

• well researched and defined insightfully

• in a clear, concise and easy to understand format

• listed alphabetically and cross-referenced for

• an informative and illuminating guide

More significantly, the book provides the interconnectivity, perspectives and substance which every resourceful and enterprising manager, decision-maker and discerning member of the public will find indispensable in the fast moving and ever changing economic times in which we live.

The publication is available in both hard and soft cover as well as in e-book and reader format.

James Persaud

Boynton Beach, Florida

April 22, 2013.

The Author

James Persaud was educated in Trinidad, the UK and the US.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Open University, England and his Masters degree in Social Science from Syracuse University, New York. He is also a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK and holds a Diploma in Computer Technology from New York University, New York.

He was an established Civil Servant with the Board of Trade in London for ten years before joining the multinational firm Berger, Jenson and Nicholson in the UK as a Marketing Executive.

He was transferred to Trinidad as Marketing Manager of Berger Paints Trinidad Limited and later headed the Marketing divisions of Barclays Bank International Trinidad, Dansteel Limited and the Trinidad Express Newspapers.

In addition, James has worked in the Litigation departments of several large law firms on Wall Street and in the Telecommunications division of the State of Florida Department of Health. He has also taught English as a Second Language (ESOL) in the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida for the past twelve years.

He is the founder, president and CEO of Datacom Management Consultants Limited, a company through which he did consultancy work.

James resides in Boynton Beach, Florida with his wife, Janet and daughter, Ariella.

Glossary of Business and

Management Terms

A

a posteriori - reasoning that is based on observed facts and is inductive, from effect to cause.

a priori - reasoning that is independent of observed facts and is deductive, from cause to effect.

ab initio - from the beginning.

abandonment - giving up possession or relinquishing rights of ownership to property voluntarily.

abatement - the cessation or elimination of a court action.

ABC - See Audit Bureau of Circulations.

ability-to-pay - a concept that wage and salary levels should be linked to the profits of a company with those earning higher incomes paying more in taxes; also, a borrower’s ability to meet his current and future debt obligations.

above par - indicates that the price of a stock, share or other security is above its nominal or face value.

above-the-line advertising - advertising in the press, radio, television, cinema, outdoor, the world wide web, and transportation media. See below-the-line advertising.

abrasion - the reduction in the weight of a coin through constant use.

abrogate - to abolish or repeal by official or legal means.

abscissa - the position of a point on the vertical Y-axis measured on a line parallel to the horizontal X-axis.

absenteeism - absence from work without a proper reason.

absolute advantage - a concept in which an individual, organization, or nation manufactures a product at a lower cost or with better productivity than another.

absolute priority - a rule in bankruptcy proceedings which states that senior creditors must be paid in full before junior creditors receive any payment.

absorption costing - the method of allocating both fixed and variable manufacturing cost estimates to cost centers.

abstract of title - a document that outlines the historical ownership to the title of property.

accelerated depreciation - writing-off the cost of an asset at a faster rate than the life of the asset. See straight line depreciation.

acceleration clause - a stipulation in a loan agreement calling for the full balance to be paid immediately if the borrower becomes delinquent in his payments.

accelerator principle - implies that there is a direct relationship between the level of demand for consumer products and the level of investment required to produce these goods.

accept a bill - the writing of one’s name across a bill thereby indicating an acknowledgement to pay when due.

acceptable quality level (AQL) - the highest number of defective units which will be accepted in a batch of production. See acceptance sampling.

acceptance - occurs where the person to whom a bill of exchange is addressed (the drawee) writes on the face of the bill the word accepted together with his name, the bank where it is payable, and his signature.

acceptance credit - the credit an exporter arranges with a bank or acceptance house for its trade customer, the goods being paid for by a bill of exchange or draft drawn on the bank or acceptance house.

acceptance house or accepting house - a financial institution that lends money on the strength of bills of exchange.

acceptance sampling - testing a random sample of items from a batch of units to ascertain the acceptable quality level (AQL) and to determine whether to accept or reject the entire production. See acceptable quality level.

acceptance supra protest or acceptance for honor - the undertaking by an individual to pay a bill of exchange to save the honor of the debtor on whom it was drawn.

accepting house - See acceptance house.

access time - the time a computer takes to obtain and retrieve data from a particular storage device.

accession - any addition to the workforce, either new or rehired.

accommodation bill - a bill of exchange co-signed by another party guaranteeing that the bill will be paid at maturity.

accommodation party - an individual who guarantees a bill of exchange without receiving payment.

accord and satisfaction - the agreement to vary a contract so that one party is released from the original debt to the full satisfaction of the other.

account - a recorded financial relationship between a buyer and a seller for goods or services for which payment is made at a later date; also, a trading period on the stock exchange.

account balance - the excess between a total of the debits and credits of an account resulting in either a debit account balance or a credit account balance.

account books - the books in which the accounts of a business are kept.

account days or payment days - the days on which settlement of accounts is due.

account executive - an executive in an advertising agency, public relations firm or similar type organization with responsibility for managing a client’s business.

account payee - in the UK, words added to a crossed check between two parallel diagonal lines to ensure that the check is paid into the account of the person to whom it is made payable.

account rendered - a statement sent by a firm to its customer showing details of the customer’s account.

accountability - a supervisor’s responsibility for the performance or actions of an individual.

accountant - one who is skilled in accounting.

accounting - the system of recording, maintaining, analyzing, summarizing, auditing and reporting on the financial transactions of a business.

accounting period - an analysis of a firm’s books of accounts and the preparation of a financial statement of its performance for a given period.

accounting ratios or management ratios - See financial ratios.

accounts - a statement of a company’s financial transactions for a particular period represented by the balance sheet and the profit and loss account.

accounts payable - money owed to suppliers for goods or services purchased on credit.

accounts receivable - money owed by customers for goods or services sold on credit.

accretion - the growth of an asset through acquisitions or internal expansion.

accruals - a method of accounting in which expenses and income are represented in the company’s books of accounts whether or not payment has been made or received.

accrued asset or accrued revenue - income earned but not yet received.

accrued expense - See accrued liability.

accrued interest - interest earned but not yet received.

accrued liability or accrued expense - an expense incurred but not yet paid.

accrued revenue - See accrued asset.

accumulated depreciation - the total depreciation written off to date.

accumulated dividend - one that is not paid out even though the due date of the dividend is reached.

accumulation - where profits are ploughed back into the business and not paid out as dividends.

ACD - See automatic call distribution.

achievement test or attainment test - a performance evaluation test designed to see how well an employee has mastered a particular skill.

acid test ratio or current ratio or liquidity ratio or quick ratio - See current ratio.

acquisition - the taking over of one company by another either through friendly or hostile means.

acquisitive society - a management theory that purports that man’s behavior is predictable because by nature his wants are unlimited.

across the board - the act of giving all employees in a company a wage increase of equal proportion.

act of bankruptcy - action by which creditors or an insolvent person files a petition in court stating that he is unable to pay his debts and declares bankruptcy.

act of God - a natural occurrence such as an earthquake or storm over which man has no control.

action - a procedure which enables one party to institute a lawsuit against another party in a court of law.

action limit - the point on a quality control chart to indicate the need for corrective action in order to rectify the problem.

action plan - a document that outlines the goals and objectives of an organization with responsibility, funding and due dates for achievements.

action research - a research methodology using problem-solving techniques to improve individual and organizational performance.

action-centered leadership - leadership from the front, i.e., leadership by the head of the organization which is inspiring, motivating and goal-oriented.

active market - a brisk market for a particular stock or commodity.

active partner - a member of a firm with day-to-day responsibilities in the management of the organization’s operations. See partner.

active trade balance - a favorable balance of trade.

activity-based budgeting (ABB) - a budgeting approach based on a complete breakdown of activities using a simple budget account as it relates to preparation of the budget. See zero-based budgeting.

activity ratio or efficiency ratio - the ratio of standard hours of actual output to standard hours of budgeted output; shows how efficiently a firm is using its resources during a given period.

activity sampling - the recording of an employee performing a task using random observations of the time spent on a given project over a fixed period.

actual cost - the price paid for an asset; also, the manufacturing cost of a product to include labor, materials and other overheads.

actual total loss - used in marine insurance to indicate the write-off of a vessel or its cargo by the insured party to the insurer.

actuals - commodities that can be purchased for immediate delivery.

See futures.

actuary - someone trained in mathematics and accounting whose job is to calculate and evaluate insurance risks and premiums.

ad hoc - for a special purpose.

ad infinitum - to infinity.

ad interim - for the meantime.

ad litem - for the period of a lawsuit.

ad referendum - for further consideration.

ad valorem - taxes charged on the value of goods and not on their volume.

adaptive selling - the change in a salesperson’s approach and technique in response to issues and requirements raised by his customers.

added value - See value added.

addendum - an addition at the end of a written report.

add-on-sales - the sale of extra goods or services to a customer.

address - the identification of a part of the storage in a computer memory.

adjournment - motion to postpone a meeting to another day, place, time, or without the day specified (sine die).

adjudication order - a court order declaring a debtor bankrupt and transferring his property to a trustee.

adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) - one in which interest is lower than a fixed rate mortgage but which fluctuates over time according to movements in the financial markets.

adjusted gross income (AGI) - gross earnings less allowed deductions, such as business expenses that are used to compute an individual’s tax liability.

adjuster - an employee of an insurance company who evaluates losses and advises on the settlement of claims.

adjusting entry - an entry made in a journal at the end of an accounting period to correct an accrued revenue or accrued expense.

administration - the department within a business that manages, evaluates and directs policies, operations and procedures.

administration costs - indirect costs that are charged to a department as its contribution to general administration expenses.

administration order - a court order made in the case of a small bankruptcy.

administrator - a person appointed by the court to administer the estate of someone who dies intestate or who leaves a will without naming an executor. See executor.

ADP - See automatic data processing.

advance - a loan or payment for work, goods or services before the due date.

advance bill - a bill of exchange drawn in advance of the carriage of goods.

advance freight - the payment of freight due in advance of the shipment of goods.

adverse balance - an unfavorable position in a country’s balance of payments.

adverse opinion - an option from an independent auditor stating a disparity between the firm’s financial statements and its actual position. See qualified opinion; unqualified opinion; disclaimer opinion.

advertising - informing the public through oral and verbal communication about the benefits of a particular product, service or business in order to persuade and stimulate sales.

advertising agency - an organization that conceptualizes, designs, plans, produces and executes advertising campaigns on behalf of its clients in the various media.

advertising manager - the executive responsible for managing the advertising department and interfacing with advertising agencies and other personnel to ensure that advertising objectives are met.

advertising media - print, radio, television, internet, cinema, outdoor, trans - portation, aerial, direct mail, etc., through which information is disseminated.

advertising opportunity - activities that generate increased buyer awareness by invoking strong emotional demand for a product or service.

advertising rates - the fees charged by advertising media for their services and facilities.

advertising sales ratio - a ratio of total advertising expenditure to total sales for a given period.

advertising schedule - a timetable of proposed advertisements indicating the media to be used, a schedule of bookings, and the cost of the campaign.

advertising specialty - a novelty given away to the public with the company’s name, logo, etc., printed on it.

advertorial - an advertisement that is made to look like an editorial.

advice note - a document sent by a supplier, either prior to, or at the time of delivery, advising the customer that a transaction has been finalized.

advise fate - a request by a collecting banker to a paying banker to find out if a check will be paid upon receipt.

adware - free software that downloads advertisements on a computer screen while a program is running.

affiant - the person who signs an affidavit.

affidavit - a sworn statement made voluntarily in writing before a person authorized by law to administer such oaths.

affiliate marketing - a referral system by which one company informs consumers of the website of another.

affiliate sampling - a statistical technique used to study the qualitative characteristics of a population.

affiliated company - a company in which less than 50 percent of the share capital is owned by another company.

affirmative action - a policy that promotes equal opportunities to minority groups regardless of race, color or sexuality as it relates to education and employment.

affreightment - a contract for the transportation of goods by sea as evidenced in the bill of lading.

after date - words written on a bill of exchange to indicate payment is due on a day after the date of the bill.

after market - products or services available on the open market for customers who wish to buy a follow-up product or a replacement part for their original purchase. See secondary market.

after sales - service provided to a customer for repairs, spares, technical advice, etc., as part of the overall customer/client relationship.

after sight - words on a bill of exchange to indicate that the day of payment is from the date the acceptor has written on the bill.

after-tax return - the rate of return that one gets after adjusting for inflation.

against all risks - used in marine insurance to mean insurance against all generally accepted risks for loss or damage.

age admitted - a note on a life insurance policy indicating that the assured has submitted satisfactory proof of his age.

agency - the legal authority to enter into a contract on behalf of another person, the principal.

agency shop - an establishment that represents all employees and to which they must all pay union dues whether or not they belong to the union.

agenda - a list of business for discussion at a meeting organized in an agreed order and circulated prior to the meeting.

agent - someone who is legally authorized to represent another person, the principal.

aggregate demand - the total demand for goods and services in a nation’s economy for a particular period.

aggregation - a financial planning