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businessballs - business and management terms Category: Management > business and management Date & country: 13/09/2014, USA Words: 1681

Consumer Credit
Also called Personal Credit or Retail Credit. Loans given to consumers by financial institutions for household or personal use

Consumer Debt
Money owed by people in the form of loans from banks or purchase agreements from retailers, such as 'buy now pay later'

Consumer Panel
A group of selected people, usually a cross-section of a population, whose purchasing habits are monitored by an organization, in order to provide feedback on products, services, etc., which are used

Consumer Price
The price which the general public pays for goods and services

Consumer Price Index
CPI. A measure of inflation which involves regularly monitoring the change in price for everyday goods and services purchased by households

Consumer Protection
Laws which protect consumers against unsafe or defective products, deceptive marketing techniques, dishonest businesses, etc

Consumer Watchdog
An independent organization that protects the rights of individual customers and monitors companies to check for illegal practices

Consumption Tax
Tax paid which is based on the price of services or goods, e.g. value added tax

Contango
A situation in which the price of a commodity to be delivered in the future exceeds the immediate delivery price, often due to storage and insurance costs

Contingency Fee
In law, a fee that is payable to the lawyer out of any damages which have been awarded to the client by a court. There is no payment if the case is unsuccessful

Contingent Liability
This is recorded as a debt on a company's accounts which may or may not be incurred, depending on the outcome of a future event, such as a court case

Contra Entry
In accounting, an amount entered which is offset by another entry of the same value, i.e., a debit is offset by a credit

Contraband
Goods prohibited by law from being exported or imported. Smuggling

Contract Of Employment
A contract between an employee and an employer which specifies terms and conditions of employment, such as hours to be worked, duties to perform, etc., in return for a salary, paid benefits, paid holiday, etc., from the employer

Contract Of Purchase
Also called Purchase Agreement. A legal document which states the terms and conditions, including price, of the sale of an item

Contract Worker
A person who is hired by a company (but not as an employee), often through an employment agency, for a specific period of time to work on a particular project

Contractor
An individual, company, etc., who agrees to provide goods and/or services to another individual or company under the terms specified in the contract

Control Account
An account which a company keeps in addition to its official accounts, in order to cross-check balances, etc., to ensure that the official accounts are accurate

Controlling Interest
The ownership of more than 50% of the voting shares in a company, which enables the owner of these shares to make decisions, direct operations, etc

Convene
To gather together for an official or formal meeting

Convention
A large formal meeting of politicians, members, delegates, sales people, etc

Convertible
Refers to a security (bonds or shares) which can be exchanged for another type of security in the same company

Convertible Currency
Currency which can be quickly and easily converted into other countries currencies

Conveyancer
A specialist lawyer who is an expert in conveyancing, i.e., legal work carried out connected to the selling and buying of property

Cookie
On a computer, coded information that an Internet website you have visited sends to your computer which contains personal information, such as identification code, pages visited, etc., so that the website can remember you at a later time

Cooling-Off Period
A period of time after the exchange of contracts, purchasing agreements, etc., during which the purchaser can change their mind and cancel the contract, and usually get any deposit paid reimbursed

Cooperative
An organisation or business which is owned and run by its employees, customers and/or tenants, who share the profits

Cooperative Marketing
Also known as Cooperative Advertising. When two companies work together to promote and sell each others products. A manufacturer or distributor who supports, and often pays for, a retailers advertising

Copyright
An exclusive legal right to make copies, publish, broadcast or sell a piece of work, such as a book, film, music, picture, etc

Core Earnings
A company's revenue which is earned from its main operations or activities minus expenses, such as financing costs, asset sales, etc

Corporate Advertising
Also called Institutional Advertising. Advertising that promotes a company's image, rather than marketing its products or services

Corporate Governance
Corporate governance refers to the (ideally visible, transparent, published) policies and practices by which an organization is directed and managed at executive level, with particular focus on the executive board's accountabilities to shareholders and other stakeholders, especially concerning avoidance of risk, and the competence, ethics and propriety of the leadership, typically a chairman and board of directors. (See the main Corpoprate Governance article for extensive history, guidance, standards, etc.) The board's corporate governance accountabilities include obligations and responsibilities in relation to organizational aims and purposes, and embrace major considerations of constitution and structure, finance and administration, people and staff, remuneration and reward, environment, ethics and morality, law and regulatory matters, quality and problem-rectification, health and safety, social responsibility, technology, processes and decision-making, legacy/sustainability, etc., and any other fundamental aspects of executive leadership and management which in the context of the organization's activities and constitution might be regarded as significant at the highest organizational level. The concept of 'corporate governance' became prominent and highly important in the late 1900s after several corporate scandals were characterized by a serious lack of accountability and transparency in the behaviour (US spelling: behavior) of company directors and senior staff. In short 'corporate governance' refers to how a (typically but not necessarily) large organization is led and managed at the most senior level. By implication, where corporate governance is correctly established and operated there is a cascading effect of hi...

Corporate Hospitality
Entertainment provided by companies in order to develop good relationships with its employees, customers, other businesses, etc

Corporate Ladder
The order of rank, position, etc., in a company from junior to senior, which can be progressed or 'climbed' by employees

Corporate Raider
A term used for an individual or company who purchases large numbers of shares in other companies, against their wishes, in order to gain a controlling interest in the other companies, or to resell the shares for a large profit

Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR. An obligation of a company to adhere to legal guidelines in order to meet the needs of its employees, shareholders and customers, and also to be concerned about social and environmental issues

Corporate Veil
A term which refers to the fact that a company's shareholders are not liable for the company's debts, and are immune from lawsuits concerning contracts, etc

Corporation
A large company or a group of companies which is legally authorised to act as a single entity, separate from its owners, with its liabilities for damages, debts, etc., limited to its assets so that its shareholders and owners are protected from personal claims

Corporation Tax
A tax which limited companies and other organisations, such as societies, clubs, associations, etc., pay on their profits after adjustments for certain allowances

Correspondence Course
A study course using written correspondence, books, etc., which are sent to you by post from learning institutes

Corruption
Lack of honesty or integrity. Illegal behaviour, such as bribery, by people in positions of authority, e.g. politicians

Cost Accounting
Managerial accounting which calculates, records and controls the operating costs of producing goods or services

Cost Control
A management process which ensures that departments within a company or organisation do not exceed their budget

Cost Cutting
Reducing an individual's, company's, etc, expenditure

Cost Effective
Producing a product, offering a service, etc., in the most economical way to the benefit of the company and the customer

Cost Leader
A company which has a competitive advantage by producing goods or offering services at a lower cost than its competitors

Cost Of Living
The standard cost of basic necessities which people need to live, such as food, housing and clothes

Cost Of Living Allowance
COLA. A salary supplement which a company pays to employees because of an increase in the cost of living

Cost Of Sales
Also known as Cost Of Goods Sold (COGS). The cost of providing a service or manufacturing a product, including labour, materials and overheads

Cost Overrun
The amount by which the actual cost of a project, etc., exceeds the original budget

Cost Per Click
CPC. The amount of money an advertiser pays to a website publisher every time a visitor clicks on an advert displayed on the publisher's website which links to the advertisers website

Cost To Serve
An accounting/business/strategy term and method of analysis which calculates the total costs of product/service provision for a particular customer, or potentially for a broader customer grouping. This method of profitability analysis shifts all indirect costs to be directcosts (directly attributable, as used, per customer), and thereby enables greater clarity in assessing strategy and priorities than relying merely on gross margin indicators.

Cost-centre
Part of a business or organisation such as a marketing department, or quality assurance department, which is a cost to operations and does not produce external customer revenues or profit through trading. See Profit-centre, which trades with external customers and is responsible for producing profit

Counterbid
To make a higher offer than someone else in a bid to buy something

Counterclaim
In a court of law, a claim made against you (plaintiff) by the person (defendant) you are making a claim against

Counterpart
A person or position which has a corresponding function in a different organization, country, etc. The corresponding function naturally is also a counterpart. Also a copy of a legal document.

Countervailing Duty
An additional tax imposed on certain imported goods which have been produced very cheaply in their country of origin, in order to bring the price of the goods up to the true market price to protect the importing country's producers

Courier
A person who carries and delivers messages, documents, packages, etc., often between companies. A person employed by a travel company as a tourist guide

Courseware
Computer software designed to be used in teaching or for self-learning

Covenant
A written promise, sometimes part of a contract, to perform, or not to perform, a particular action

Cover Charge
A fixed fee charged by a nightclub or a restaurant with live entertainment, which covers, or part covers, the cost of musicians, DJs, etc

Cowboy
A dishonest, often unqualified, business person, especially one who overcharges for bad quality work. Not to be confused with the cowboy of top-shelf publications

CPI
Cost-Per-Impression (cost per view) - an advertising method/term, commonly used in online advertising, by which advertising costs are based on the number of times an advert is displayed or viewed. See also PPC/CPC (Pay per Click/Cost per Click)

Creative Director
A person who usually works in the advertising or entertainment industry and is responsible for planning and managing the creative aspects of an advertising or promotional campaign

Credit
An arrangement in which an item for sale is received by the purchaser and paid for at a later date. A loan. The positive balance in a bank account. An amount entered in a company's accounts which has been paid by a debtor

Credit Analysis
The process of analysing a company's financial records and assessing its ability to repay a loan, etc

Credit Crunch
Also known as Credit Squeeze. This usually precedes a recession. A situation in which loans for businesses and individuals are difficult to obtain, when a government is trying to control inflation, because of the fear of bankruptcy and unemployment. The term 'Credit Crunch' also became a specific informal name for the 2008 global financial crisis and subsequent prolonged recession, which affected western economies particularly, mainly because of their highly leveraged and indebted nature, and the convoluted inter-dependent chains of credit arrangements between banks, some of which failed completely resulting in their effective nationalization or absorption into larger competitors.

Credit Rationing
When a bank or money lender limits the amount of funds available to borrowers, or interest rates are very high.

Credit Union
A financial institution, similar to a bank, whose members create the funds from which they can obtain loans at low rates of interest

Crib
Plagiarism. To copy someone else's written work and pass it off as your own.

Criterion
A principal or standard by which other things or people may be compared, or a decision may be based

Critical Mass
The minimum amount of customers, resources, etc., needed to maintain or start a business, venture, etc. The point at which change occurs e.g., when a company is able to continue in business and make a profit without any outside help

Cronyism
In business and politics, showing favouritism to friends and associates by giving them jobs or appointments with no regard to their qualifications or abilities

Cross Guarantee
Also known as Inter Company Guarantee. A guarantee by a group of companies to be responsible for the debts, etc., of another company in the group if it fails to repay them. The group also use the guarantee to raise capital or take out multiple loans

Cross Merchandising
Also known as Add-On Sales. In retailing, the practice of putting related products together on display in order to encourage customers to purchase several items

Crowdfunding
A method of funding and underpinning a project or business venture which became increasingly popular and visible in the 21st century, whereby users or other interested people are involved as investors at project inception, and therefore agree and commit to support a development of one sort or another. A good example of crowdfunding is the raising capital and support from a local community for the construction of nearby wind turbines, which generally otherwise encounter local hostility instead of support. The concept of crowdfunding provides a clear illustration of the benefit of involving people as stakeholders, rather than positioning people as 'reluctant customers' or obstacles to be confronted and overcome. See 'Crowdsourcing', which like 'Crowdfunding' embodies similar progressive, open, inclusive, non-authoritarian management philosophy

Crown Jewel
The most valuable and profitable asset of a company or business

Cube Farm
An open office which is divided into cubicles

Culpability
Blame or liability for harm or damage to others, from Latin culpa meaning fault

Currency Bloc
A group of countries that use the same currency, for example the Euro

Current Account
A bank account which can be used to make deposits, withdrawals, cash cheques, pay bill, etc

Current Assets
Also called Liquid Assets. A company's cash or assets which can be converted into cash usually within one year, including shares, inventory, etc

Current Liability
In business, a liability or debt which must be paid within one year from the time of the initial transaction

Current Ratio
A financial ratio which gives an indication of whether or not a company can pay its short-term debts

Customer
An individual, company, etc., who purchases goods and/or services from other individuals, companies, stores, etc

Customer Loyalty
Describes when a customer prefers to buy a particular brand or type of product, who prefers a particular shop, or who stays with the same company, such as a bank, insurance company, phone company, etc

Customer Relations
The relationship a company has with its customers and the way it deals with them. The department in a company which is responsible for dealing with its customers, for example complaints, etc

Customs Duty
A tax which must be paid on imported, and sometimes exported, goods, to raise a country's revenue and to protect domestic industries from cheaper foreign competition

Customs Union
A group of nations which have agreed to promote free trade, for example, not to charge tax on goods which they trade with one another, and to set taxes for nations which are not members of the group

Cut-Throat
Ruthless and intense competition. An unprincipled, ruthless person

Cutover
Also known as 'Going Live'. The point in time a company or organisation, etc., replaces an old program or system with a new one

Cyber Monday
In recent times, the busiest online shopping day of the year, in the USA typically the Monday after Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday of November); in the UK typically the first Monday in December

Cyberspace
Term credited to author William Gibson in 1984 which describes the imaginary place where e-mails, web pages, etc., go to while they are being sent between computers

Cybersquatting
The illegal activity of buying and registering a domain name which is a well-known brand or someone's name, with the intent of selling it to its rightful owner in order to make a profit.

Damage Limitation
The process of trying to limit or curtail the amount of damage or loss caused by a particular situation or event

Dark Net
A term for online private websites and networks concealed from and inaccessible to unauthorised users in which materials are shared, normally illegally and anonymously

Dark Store
A retail store adapted or designed for the main or whole purpose of fulfilling online orders. Customers generally do not visit 'dark stores', except where policy/processes allow the collection of pre-ordered goods. The 'dark store' feature of retailing began to emerge seriously in the early 2000s, in which an existing retail store or a purpose-built facility - notably in the supermarkets sector - would be adapted/designed chiefly or entirely for distributing orders placed online, i.e., website sales. Dark stores typically contain similar warehousing/shelving/aisles arrangements to conventional retail stores, but store staff physically pick the products, rather than customers. Orders are then delivered to customers, or (subject to the policy if the retailer) may be collected. It is easy to foresee a time when generally the product picking and packaging for delivery/collection is automated. The word 'dark' in this context alludes to the notion of a store not requiring the bright environment and highly visible presence and that we normally associate with traditional retailing. The word also alludes to the fact that much of the activity in dark stores can happen at night. This terminology and retailing strategy reflects a substantial fundamental shift in society, far beyond the logistics of shopping. Dark stores signify a dramatic reorganization of the 'developed world', by which the nature of consumer and commercial consumption, and the uses of buildings and entire commercial/retail development sites, are becoming very different, with many big implications for societies, infrastructures, and how people live within and relate to them. Incidentally the word fulfillment may instead be spelled fulfilment, although the former is...

Dawn Raid
A sudden planned purchase of a large number of a company's shares at the beginning of a days trading on the stock exchange

Day Player
In the entertainment industry, actors, etc., who are hired by the day

De Facto
Latin - Existing in reality or fact, with or without legal right