Business Vocabulary PDF

Vocabulary Unit 3, 4 Backer: A financial supporter. Ballpark Figure: A rough estimate. Level Playing Field: Equal opportunities for all. ROI: Profit percentage from an investment. Yield: Earnings from an investment. Volatility: A situation in which conditions can change suddenly and without warnin...

Vocabulary Unit 3, 4 Backer: A financial supporter. Ballpark Figure: A rough estimate. Level Playing Field: Equal opportunities for all. ROI: Profit percentage from an investment. Yield: Earnings from an investment. Volatility: A situation in which conditions can change suddenly and without warning. Assets: The things that a company owns, e.g., property. Liquidity: A situation in which a business or a person has money or goods that can be sold to pay debts. Equities: Shares in a company from which the owner of the shares receives some of the company’s profits, rather than a fixed regular payment. Bonds: Official documents promising that a government or company will pay back money that it has borrowed, often with interest. Conflicting: Opposing or contradictory. Delve into: To investigate thoroughly. Dug up: Found or revealed after searching. Fallacy: A mistaken belief or flawed reasoning. Fine-tooth comb: A tool or method for detailed examination. Oversight: A mistake due to carelessness or supervision. Reputable: Having a good reputation or trustworthy. Stand up to scrutiny: To withstand close examination. Stickler for detail: Someone very meticulous or precise. Verify: To confirm or check for accuracy. Revenues – Cost of sales = Gross profit Gross profit – Operating expenses = Operating profit Operating profit – (Interest, Tax, Depreciation) = Net profit Report structure Table of figures; Executive summary that: (a) reviews the table line by line, giving reasons for the figures; (b) discusses impact on future investment plans; (c) gives a provisional budget forecast Vocabulary variance = difference budgeted = forecast = expected revenues = turnover = income expenses = costs gross and net CapEx (capital expenditure) OpEx (operating expenditure) sth is offset by sth else sth outweighs sth else Comparing figures be down/up (by) go down/up (from … to …) be lower/higher fall/rise reduce/raise sth decline drop be flat be unchanged be in line with Vague language a little lower a small drop around 130 considerably lower increase slightly less than half significantly higher slightly more substantially less Reasons as a result of because of due to result in Predictions It might/may/could happen. It is likely/expected/forecast to happen. It is likely/probable that it will happen. I expect … I am optimistic that Fragmented: Having many companies involved in an industry or business activity. Displace: Take the place or position of something or someone. Inject: Add excitement or interest to something and so enable a company to be in a stronger position. Abandon: Stop doing something because there are too many problems and it is impossible to continue. Reposition: Change a company’s image through rebranding so that people think about it differently. Consume: Buy and use goods, services, energy, or natural materials. Mainstay: An important part of something that makes it possible for it to work properly or continue to exist. Lifespan: The period of time during which something like a company will survive and be viable. Agile: Able to change quickly and do things differently when necessary because of customer demands and changes in the market. Dedicated: Made for or used for only one particular purpose. Business Landscape: The overall environment or conditions in which businesses operate. Digital Transformation: Adopting digital technology to improve processes and operations. Disruptive Innovation: New technology or methods that change industries by displacing older systems. Established Companies: Long-standing businesses with a stable presence in the market. Game Changers: People, products, or ideas that dramatically alter a situation or industry. Novel Approach: A new or unique method of solving a problem. Venture Fund: A pool of money used to invest in startups or new businesses. Sales and MArketing 1. [brand loyalty] = A Iong-term customer preference for a particular product or service (for example, someone who always buys Mazda cars because he/she thinks they are better than other cars on the market). 2. [reward scheme] = A system that gives incentives to customers to continue using the same shop or service (e.g. by collecting points that they can redeem on future purchases). 3. [product differentiation] = A marketing technique that promotes and emphasises a product’s difference from other, similar, products. 4. [client base (client list)] = The regular customers of an organisation or professional person. 5. [network marketing] = The selling of goods or services through a linked group of self-employed agents or representatives. 6. [brand awareness] = The Ievel of recognition that consumers have of a company name (or its products) and its specific category (for example, most people know that McDonalds® selIs fast food, especially burgers). 7. [price insensitive] = Used to describe a product or service for which sales remain constant, no matter what its price, because it is essential to buyers. 8. [price leadership]= The establishment of price Ievels in a market by a dominant company or brand. 9. [target market] = The people to whom a company is planning to sell its goods or services. 10. [added value] = An increase in the attractiveness to customers of a product or service which is achieved by adding something to it (e.g. a computer might come with pre-loaded software, a printer, a scanner, etc.) 11. [niche market] = A small, specialised market for a particular product or service. 12. [domestic market] = An internal or home market, where goods and services are bought and sold within the borders of a country. 13. [retailer] = A person or business that sells goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale. 14. [wholesaler] = A person or firm that buys large quantities of goods from various producers or vendors, stores them in warehouses, and resells to retailers. 15. [customer retention] = Activities and actions companies and organizations take to reduce the number of customer defections. 1. All I Want cottage cheese has young, trend and health conscious people as their [target group]. 2. With the introduction of the new [reward scheme ], customers can now collect points on their loyalty cards. These points can be traded for a discount on best-selling products in certain weeks of the year. 3. H&M is a commonly known, yet not undisputed clothing [retailer]. Its suppliers can be considered [wholesalers]. 4. Amazon’s Kindle was initially not targeted at the mass market, but a small [niche market]- tech-savvy book readers. 5. The latest developments in technology allow for the introduction of new features and thus greater [product differentiation] in the smart phone sector. 6. Apple’s design aesthetic created under Steve Jobs has led to a very high [brand awareness]. 7. Exceptional service can lead to highly positive customer experience and as such is an [added value] that can increase a company’s profits. 8. UNIQA's brand equity - the result of brand awareness and [brand loyalty] - was again second to no other Austrian insurance company in 2018. 9. Apple has certainly won [price leadership] within the smart phone market. As new brands enter the global market with much lower prices, price wars might result. 10.Our [client base] has responded well to the shift in brand positioning, i.e. our move towards a more elevated niche market. 11.Even though Milka sells its products worldwide, it still has the biggest market share in its [domestic market], Austria. 12.The first step in successful [customer retention] is to notice any churning signs. The second step would be to target your customers with special offers. 13.Snacks at cinemas are typically [price insensitive], because cinemagoers have become used to treating themselves to a snack when watching a film. 14.Avon, Ann Summers or Tupperware are brands that typically use [network marketing] schemes and sell their products at parties. Unfortunately, these schemes are not without financial risk for the sales representatives. Presenting Trends I+II grow: [expand] 2. fall: [drop] 3. improve: [recover] 4. stay the same: [be stable] 5. move higher: [rise] 6. level off: [stabilize] 7. shrink: [contract] 8. edge down: [dip] 1. boom: [crash] 2. double: [halve] 3. edge up: [dip] 4. grow: [shrink] 5. improve: [deteriorate] 6. peak: [hit a low] 7. stay the same: [vary ] 8. rise: [fall] FAST [rapid] [gradual] [sluggish] SLOW BIG [enormous] [moderate] [slight] SMALL GOOD NEWS [excellent] [encouraging] [disappointing] BAD NEWS Complete the presentation extrat with the words given below. axis, a slight increase, although, have been flat, highlight, highly likely, implications, in line with, lead to, notice, more rapidly, reached a peak, roughly, while Ok, have a look at this next graph. There are two lines. The green line, with values on the left vertical [axis], shows sales. The red line, with values on the right vertical axis, shows profits. I'd like to [highlight] two things here: The first is the sales graph. As you can see, sales rose steadily for many years, but they [reached a peak] around two years ago. Since then, sales [have been flat] - with just [a slight increase] in this quarter. Now look at profits. [Notice] how profits increased [in line with ] sales for several years, but then they started to deteriorate, slowly at first and then [more rapidly]. In the last year this drop in profits has been significant - [roughly] 5%. So profits are down [while] sales are flat. The [implications] of this are clear: we are not doing enough to control costs. [Although] the sales figures taken alone don't look too bad, profits tell the real story. It is a difficult market environment and we must act now, or it's [highly likely] that we will lose our competitiveness. In the long term, this will [lead to] a situation where the future of the company, and our jobs, are at risk. 1. It's highly likely that we'll meet our targets. [We're almost certain to meet our targets.] 2. We're likely to meet our targets. [There's a good chance we'll meet our targets.] 3. It might be that we meet our targets. [There's a 50/50 chance we'll meet our targets.] 4. We're unlikely to meet our targets. [There's not much chance we'll meet our targets.] 5. It's highly unlikely that we'll meet our targets. [There's almost no way we'll meet our targets.] Management Styles and Qualities The correct answer is: Drag the word/ expressions so that they match the expressions below: 1. expecting other people to obey rules completely: [authoritarian] 2. needing a lot of time and energy: [demanding] 3. involving agreement of most people in a group; democratic: [consensual] 4. giving training or advice for a specific job or task: [coaching] 5. advising and helping someone more generally over a longer period of time: [mentoring] 6. exchange of information between people so that they work well togehter: [liaison] 7. where people and jobs are divided into many levels of importance: [hierarchical] 8. taking action before it's needed, rather than waiting until problems develop: [proactive] 9. showing a lot of care and attention: [conscientious] 10. including every possible detail and avoiding mistakes: [thorough] 11. wanting to do something very much so that you will not let anything stop you: [determined] 12. a problem that delays or stops progress: [setback] 1. He's under a lot of pressure and looks worried all the time. He's really [stressed]. 2. Once she's made a plan, she does't like changing it. She's a bit [inflexible]. 3. He likes to get involved and do things, rather than just talking about them or making other people do them. He's very [hands‑on]. 4. Her desk is so untidy - papers everywhere! It's really [messy]. 5. He produced complicated rules for everything. His approach is very [bureaucratic]. 6. She's honest and open and doesn't try to hide anything. She's very [transparent]. The ability to lead teams is a key skill in the modern business world. The team leader has to move between a variety of approaches: [issuing] instructions and supervising closely at times, [guiding] and encouraging and offering advice at other times. The team leader is of course responsible for monitoring overall [progress], but once the team is up and [running], and the objectives and team roles are clearly defined, then he or she may be able to take a back seat for short periods of time. Team members like to feel that they can [carry out] their roles without the leader [breathing] down their neck all the time. However, they do need to [report back] regularly, and the team leader is expected to give them constructive [feedback] on their performance. Indentify the word on the right which has the opposite meaning of the word on the left: drag and drop 1. simple: [bureaucratic] 2. centralised: [decentralized] 3. co-operative: [unco‑operative/ unhelpful] 4. coordinated: [uncoordinated] 5. direct: [indirect] 6. flexible: [inflexible / rigid] 7. hands-off: [hands‑on] 8. honest: [dishonest] 9. intuitive: [rational] 10 methodical: [careless] 11. organized: [disorganized / messy] 12. stressed: [relaxed / calm] 13. supportive: [unsupportive] 14. top-down: [bottom‑up] 15. transparent: [unclear] Money and Financial Issues 1. When you credit an account, you put money into it. When you debit an account, you take money out of it. 2. ln the UK, shares are one of the many equal parts into which a public company's capital is divided. stocks are similar, but are issued by the government. 3. lf you deposit money in an account, you put money into the account. If you withdraw money, you take it out of your account. 4. A wage is money that is earned on a daily or weekly basis (often for a part- time, temporary or unskilled job). A salary is money that is earned monthly or annually (usually for a full-time, permanent or skilled job or profession). 5. An invoice is a note, or bill, sent to you to ask for payment for goods or services. A receipt is a note (from a shop, for example) which shows how much you have paid for something. 6. A refund is money paid back to a customer when, for example, returning something to a shop. A rebate is money that someone gets back as a result of paying too much tax or rent, etc. 7. commission is the percentage of sales value given to a sales person in a company. Interest is the percentage that is paid to someone for lending money. 8. lf you honour a debt, you pay back the money you owe. lf you default on a debt, you fail to pay the money back. Markets and Marketing 1. separate parts: [segments] 2. the fact of being male or female: [gender] 3. people of the same age or who belong to the same social group: [peers] 4. (formal) buying: [purchasing] 5. (three words) the way that a product is: [patterns of demand] 6. (informal) people who sell products for a company: [reps] 7. try to influence; aim to hit: [target] 8. possible or likely to succeed: [feasible] 9. (two words) particular prices that have been specially chosen (eg € 9.90 or € 199): [price points] 10. (two words) small group of potential customers who have similar needs or interests: [niche market] 11. something that results in important changes: [catalyst] 12. important parts of a product: [features] 13. pieces of paper (or other material) with information: [label] 14. (three words) how much sales volume changes when you change the price: [elasticity of demand] The correct answer is: Drag the words to their best definition: 1. all the ways used to encourage demand for a product (the most general word): [marketing ] 2. an activity that attracts people's attention to a product (one aspect of #1): [promotion] 3. telling people about a product (eg on television, in magazines) in order to persuade them to buy it (one aspect of #2): [advertising] 4 any information that makes people notice a product (this may be unplanned, out of the control of the company and not part of its marketing strategy): [publicity] Complete the sentences by dragging the words: 1. If the government doesn't interfere, then the prices are set by [market forces]. 2. "The four Ps" give the [marketing mix] for a particular product. 3. The percentage of the market that you have is your [market share]. 4. Sponsored links on Google (when a customer searches for your product type) is a very effective [marketing tool].