AFM 131 Quiz #1

Unit 3

• Benchmark interest rate: The rate at which the Bank of Canada loans money to Canadian financial institutions.
• Business cycles: Economic activity fluctuates over time, with phases of expansion, peak, contraction, trough, and recovery. The duration and severity of each cycle can vary.
• Consumer Price Index (CPI): Measures the change in prices of a basket of commonly purchased goods and services like food, housing, transportation etc.
• Depression: A severe recession marked by long-term decline in economic activity.
• Deregulation: Removal of laws and regulations that reduce competition
• Economies of scale: Benefits of producing more units; costs per unit decrease as production increases.
• Environmental scan: Evaluation of factors that could impact a business's success.
• Factors of production: Land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship, and knowledge needed for production.
• Fiscal policy: Government actions using taxes and spending to regulate economic stability.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Total value of final goods and services produced within a country in a year.
• GDP per capita: GDP divided by the population; indicates average national income.
• Inflation: Increase in prices of goods and services over time.
• Macroeconomics: Study of whole economy (e.g., employment, interest rates, inflation).
• Microeconomics: Study of individual economic choices and decisions in the economy.
• Monetary policy: Government actions to manage money supply and interest rates.
• National debt: Sum of government deficits accumulated over time.
• PEST: Analysis of Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors impacting organizations.
• Porter's five forces: Framework for assessing competition, new entrants, supplier/customer power, and substitutes.
• Recession: Two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.
• Stakeholders: Individuals or groups with interests connected to an organization.
• Switching costs: Costs of changing from one product/supplier to another.
• SWOT: Analysis of organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Triple bottom line reporting: Corporate reporting on social, environmental, and economic performance.
• Unemployment rate: Percentage of unemployed people in the labor force.
• Corporate philanthropy: Businesses donating money or resources to charities.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Businesses acting responsibly towards society
• Ethical dilemma: difficult decision with no obvious desirable outcome
• Ethics: Guiding principles for decision-making
• Fair trade: Ensuring fair prices for products from developing countries
• Laws: Established regulations governing actions in a jurisdiction
• Social audit: Evaluating an organization’s social responsibility practices
• Sustainable development: Meeting current needs without compromising future generations’ needs

Unit 4

• Leadership styles:

  • Autocratic: Leaders make decisions without consulting anyone.
  • Democratic: leaders work collaboratively with their employees when making decisions.
  • Laissez-faire: Managers set the goals, but employees are free to implement them.

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Motivation theory: Physiological needs (basic), safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

• Mission statement: An organization’s purpose and what they intend to do

• Organizational chart: Graphic depiction of the organizational structure

• Values: Fundamental beliefs guiding an organization

• Vision: Description of an organization's desired future

• Advertising: methods of promoting a brand or product to a general audience

• Brand: Name, symbol, or design associated with a product or organization

• Brand equity: Overall value of a brand based on its awareness and customer loyalty

• Break-even analysis: Calculating the point at which revenue equals costs (to determine profitability)

• B2B/B2C: Business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales

• Buzz marketing: Encouraging consumers to engage with a product/service through social media or word-of-mouth

• Concept testing: Gathering feedback on a new product idea from potential customers

• Crowdsourcing: Using ideas and feedback from many people to improve a product, service or process.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Systems for managing interactions with customers

• Direct marketing: One-on-one communication with customers through direct channels

• Distributions channel: Series of entities that transfer products from manufacturer to consumers

Unit 5 (and 8)

• Market segmentation: Dividing a market into groups of customers based on shared characteristics.

• Marketing: Activities involved in creating, communicating, and delivering a product or service to customers.

• Marketing mix (4Ps): Product, price, place, and promotion decisions to create effective marketing strategies.

• Mass marketing: Reaching a large target market with a single product offering.

• Penetration Pricing: Initial low pricing to attract customers in competitive markets

• Personal selling: Direct interaction with potential buyers to build relationships and close sales.

• Price skimming: Initial high pricing, later reducing price as the market matures.

• Product differentiation: Creating unique features or benefits for a product to stand out from competitors.

• Product life cycle: Phases of growth and decline for a product. Include introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages.

• Product line: Group of similar products offered by a company.

• Product mix: Total collection of product lines offered by a company.

• Promotion mix: Combination of tools used to promote products and brand (advertising, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing).

• Public relations: Creating a positive image and publicity for a company.

• Relationship marketing: Developing long-term relationships with customers to build customer loyalty.

• Sales promotions: Incentives like coupons or discounts to encourage immediate sales.

• Target market: Specific group of customers that a company aims to target and their needs.

• Test marketing: Launching a product in a limited area to test its response before full launch.

Unit 10

• Apprenticeship programs: Training programs providing practical experience and skills to aspiring employees.
• Bonus plans: Additional rewards or compensation for exceeding performance targets or goals.
• Cafeteria-style benefits: Allow employees to select benefits that best suit their needs.
• Coaching: Mentoring and guidance offered to develop employee skills.
• Commission plans: Compensation based on a percentage of achieved sales.
• Compensation: Total wages and salaries/benefits provided to employees.
• Compressed workweek: Working required hours over fewer days.
• Contingent workers: Temporary employees hired for short-term needs.
• Employee lifecycle (ELC): Stages of employment from recruitment through onboarding, evaluation, and termination/retention
• Recruitment: Process of finding qualified applicants for job openings.
• Onboarding: Transitioning new employees to the company culture and responsibilities.
• Development: Enhancing employee skills and abilities through training and other experiences.
• Retention: Keeping valuable employees with the organization.
• Offboarding: Managing the departure of employees (both voluntary and involuntary).
• Flextime plans: Flexible work hours
• Fringe benefits: Non-monetary benefits provided to employees (health insurance, vacation time etc.).
• Hourly wage: Compensation calculated per hour worked.
• Job description: Detailed overview of job duties and responsibilities.
• Job rotation: Moving employees between different departments to gain experience and skills.
• Job simulations: Realistic exercises simulating job tasks to evaluate skills or train employees.
• Off-the-job training: Training outside of the regular work environment.
• On-the-job training: Training on the job by observing or working alongside experienced personnel.
• Online training: Training programs accessible online.
• Pay equity: Fair compensation for work of similar value regardless of gender, ethnicity etc
• Performance appraisals: Assessing employee performance against organizational standards
• Profit sharing: Sharing part of company profits with employees.
• Salary: Fixed amount of compensation paid annually; sometimes adjusted annually based on merit or performance.
• Stock options: Rights to purchase company stock at a set price, usually granted as compensation.
• Telework/Telecommuting: Working from a location other than the workplace, such as at home
• Turnover rate: Percentage of employees leaving a company each year
• Understudy positions: Positions in organizations where workers develop skills and experience by aiding senior workers