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

Looping
In films, TV programs, etc., the process of dubbing the original film footage by synching (lining it up) with new or replacement dialogue

Loss Leader
In retail, a product which is offered at a very low price to attract customers who will then buy other goods which will produce more profit for the retailer

Low Hanging Fruit
A term used in business for something which is easily obtainable and highly visible, and provides a quick easy way to making a profit

Low Yield
A term used to describe investments which are low risk and do not produce a high level of income

Loyalty Card
A card given to customers by a retailer which gives the customer points, etc., every time they shop there. These points convert into vouchers which the customer can spend at the store at a later date

Luddite
A derogatory term for someone who opposes or disapproves of new technology and/or new methods of working, often because the changes threaten jobs. From the Luddite rioters of 1811-16, who in defence of labourers' jobs in early industrial Britain wrecked new manufacturing machinery. See Luddite in the words origins page.

Macro
In a computer, a single instruction which results in a complete series of more detailed instructions being put into effect

Magalog
A catalogue which appears to be a magazine, used for marketing purposes

Magic bullet
A simple effective solution to a serious or complex problem, especially in medicine, for example a cure for a disease. The simplicity is for users, not necessarily for the developers. See also Silver Bullet, basically the same meaning

Magnetic Media
Disks and tapes which are used to record and store computer data

Mail Merge
The process of automatically personalising a customised letter or document by using a list of individual names and addresses, so the same letter can be sent to many people

Mail Order
The purchasing or selling of goods over the Internet, telephone, from catalogues, etc., which are delivered to the customer by mail

Mainframe
Also known as 'Big Iron'. A large powerful central computer to which a network of smaller computers are connected, used commonly by large organisations

Mainstream
A term applied to activities, ideas, products/services, etc., that are used/followed/supported by most people. Mainstream basically means 'commonly used by people'. Mainstream as a marketing term is the opposite to 'niche' or specialised. Interestingly while 'mainstream' seems like a relatively modern word, it's actually existed in this sense since about 1830.

Make To Stock
In manufacturing, products which are made and stocked before customers orders have been received

Makegood
In advertising, a free advertising slot given to a company by a TV station, magazine, etc., if the company's advert was previously run incorrectly

Maladministration
In business or government, the act of incompetence or running a system in a dishonest way

Managed Economy
An economy in which goods, allocation of resources and prices are determined by the government

Managed Hosting
A type of Internet hosting in which the hosting supplier deals with technical issues and problems related to the website, in addition to the basic hosting of the website

Management Buy-In
When a management team from outside a company acquires more than 50% of the company, so they become the majority shareholders, and then manage the company themselves

Management Buy-Out
MBO. The purchase of all or part of a company by the company's existing managers

Management By Exception
A management style in which managers give employees the authority to run projects, etc., by themselves and managers only become involved if the employees fail to meet certain criteria or standards

Manager
A person who is in charge of a project, department, group, team, etc

Mandate
Technically a legal or official document giving an order or instruction. More loosely it refers to a permission or approval. In politics or democratic situations such as trade unions it refers to an authorisation for leadership to act based on election or vote. Derived from Latin mandatum meaning 'something commanded', from manus (hand) and dare (give). Mandate is also a verb, meaning to empower someone to take action

Mandatory Convertible Bond
Bonds that must be redeemed in shares by the company which issues them, usually by a specified date

Margin
The difference in the price of producing a product and the price it sells for, calculated as a percentage, i.e., profit margin

Margin Account
An account held by an investor with a broker in which the broker lends the investor money to purchase shares, etc., which are then used as collateral against the loan

Margin Call
A demand by a broker for an investor to bring his margin account up to the minimum level required by depositing additional money, shares, securities, etc

Marginal Productivity
The additional output of a product, etc., which is produced as a result of adding one unit of a resource, for example labour input, in the production process

Market
The commercial activity of buying and selling goods and services. The customers who buy goods and services

Market Basket
A way of measuring the cost of living. A collection of products or services which consumers buy on a regular basis, and the prices which are paid for them

Market Clearing Price
The price of a product or service at which the level of demand equals the level of supply

Market Control
A situation in which the quantity and/or price of goods or services is influenced by buyers or sellers

Market Economy
A situation in which businesses operate in a free market, i.e., they are in competition with each other and are not under government control

Market Forces
Influences, such as the availability of raw materials for the production of goods, or customer numbers, which affect supply, demand and prices of products and services.

Market Leader
A company or brand which has the highest sales of a particular product. A best-selling product

Market Orientation
A business strategy whereby a company focuses on meeting the customers needs and wants regarding products and services

Market Penetration Price
A low price at which a new product is offered when it first comes onto the market, in order to attract customers, after which the price is usually increased

Market Research
The process of gathering and analysing information about customers, competitors, etc., in order to make decisions and solve problems connected with selling products or services

Market Sector
Competing businesses which produce or buy similar goods and/or services. The customers for which certain goods and services are marketed

Market Segment
A subgroup within a larger market in which people share certain characteristics and require similar products or services.

Market Test
The testing of a product or service in several areas of the country to see if customers will like it and want to buy it

Market-To-Market
The process of valuing a security, share, etc., on a daily basis to assess its current price, rather than its acquisition price or book value

Marketing Myopia
When a business is being shortsighted regarding the needs of its customers, only focusing on its products or short range goals and missing marketing opportunities

Marque
A brand name or model of a well-known manufactured product, especially an expensive car

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs
Developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943. A fundamental motivational theory describing five stages of human needs which must be met in a particular order.

Master Franchise
Allows companies or individuals the right to purchase a sub-franchise business which can be developed in a particular area or country

Material Requirements Planning
(MRP) The use of computer software to plan and manage a production process, for example the amount of materials or parts required, calculation of workload, delivery schedules, etc

Maternity Leave
The time a pregnant employee is entitled to take off from her job before and after the birth of her baby. Entitlement to Maternity Leave depends on how long the woman has been with her employer

Maternity Pay
An employee benefit paid to pregnant women when they take time off from their job to have their baby. Entitlement to Maternity Pay depends on how long they have worked for their employer and varies from country to country

Mates Rates
To sell a product or service to a friend or family member at a discounted or reduced rate on the normal price

Matrix Management
Also known as Dotted Line Responsibility. A system of management in which people from different departments in an organisation work together, so that each individual employee has two bosses, one functional and one operational. This is common in project management

Maven
An expert, often self-proclaimed, in a particular field

Maverick
An independent thinker who does not conform to accepted opinion on certain matters and takes a stand from other people

Mediagenic
A tendency (for a person or activity, etc) to convey a favourable impression when reported by the media.

Meme
Originally a biological term referring to a behavioural characteristic which transfers non-genetically between people, meme increasingly refers more widely to other non-human characterstics or examples which arise as imitations of or variations on a particular theme

Memo
Usually used for communication within an organisation. Memos can be formal letters or informal notes to colleagues

Mentor
Someone who is experienced and gives guidance and support to a person less experienced to help them develop and grow and achieve their goals

Menu Bar
On a computer screen, the strip at the top of each open window that contains pull down menus with functions, for example file, edit, etc

Mercantile
Relating to trade or commerce

Merchandising
The practice of promoting and selling goods. Commercial products which are associated with a film, pop group, TV show, celebrity, etc., such as toys, clothing, food products, household items, etc

Merchant Bank
Known in the US as an Investment Bank. A financial institution which offers financial advice and services to large businesses and wealthy individuals

Merge-Purge
The process of combining two or more lists or files of names and addresses etc., typically databases, and removing duplicated and/or unwanted items, to produce one new clean list or database

Merger
The joining of two or more companies, organisations etc

Meritocracy
In business, a system in which people advance because of their abilities rather than their connections or wealth, etc

Merlin
TV/Movie term for a visual mistake in a film or TV show, derived from the accidental inclusion of a beer can in a TV drama scene featuring Merlin, in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Mesne Profits
Compensation or penalty charges instead of, or 'in lieu' of, rent claimed by a landlord against a person illegally occupying land or property and subsequently evicted, commonly arising from a court order.

Mezzanine Finance
A high interest, usually unsecured, loan in which the lender often has the right to obtain shares in the business which has acquired the loan. Sometimes used in management buy-outs

Microblogging
A type of blogging allowing users to post or broadcast pictures and/or short messages or articles typically in the range of 140-200 characters

Microcap
In the US, small companies on the stock exchange that have shares which are very low in total value

Microcredit
The loaning of very small sums of money to entrepreneurs, especially in the developing world, typically enabling the start-up of small business activities, especially social enterprise. See small business start-ups

Microeconomics
A branch of economics which studies individual parts of the economy, such as households, industries and businesses, and how they make decisions about spending money, use of goods and services, etc

Microsite
A small separate part of a larger website which is designed to be used for a particular purpose, e.g., advertising or selling. Often co-branded or 'white label', i.e., run by a larger website organisation for a smaller website acting as an agent or affiliate

Middle Management
In organisations and business, managers who are in charge of small departments and groups of people while reporting to upper management

Middleman
A person who arranges business or political deals between people, usually for a commission or fee, or, more generally, any person or company buying goods from a supplier and selling them to customers, usually at a profit

Midsession
On the stock exchange, the middle period of trading during the day, usually around noon

Milk Round
In the UK, a term used when large companies visit universities each year to advertise job opportunities to students

Mindshare
In advertising, the development of consumer awareness of a product or brand

Minimax Strategy
In Game Theory and strategy generally, a method which seeks to minimise the maximum potential losses, which usually equates to 'playing safe'

Minimum Wage
The legal lowest wage an employee can be paid by an employer

Minion
A low-ranking loyal and often favoured servant or worker

Minister without portfolio
A government minister who has not been appointed to any specific department, and who has no specific departmental responsibilities. Also refers metaphorically to an executive or director or manager in an organization who has authority and rank but no responsibility for specific activity

Mirror Site
On the Internet, an exact copy of a popular website. This is done so that some of the traffic can be diverted from the original website to the Mirror Site when the original site becomes very busy. Alternatively a copy website whose purpose is to attract and direct additional visitors towards the original site, regarded as unacceptable SEO (search engine optimisation) or 'cheating' by most search engines.

Mission Creep
Originally applied to military operations, a gradual expansion of a project that goes beyond original aims, so things turn out differently than planned, often resulting in undesirable consequences

Mission Statement
A brief statement which sets out the activities and objectives of a company or organisation

Mitigate
To make something less severe or dangerous, e.g., using 'Mitigating Circumstances' as an excuse to try to make an offence seem less serious than it appears

Mixed Economy
A country's economic system which has both private and state owned enterprises in operation

Mnemonic
A technique or mechanism, popularly called a 'memory-aid', for helping to remember something (a rule, process, concept, theory, etc., or simply a job to do or mental note). Examples of types of mnemonics are acronyms (including 'bacronyms') stories, quotes and rhymes. A knotted handkerchief is a traditional and iconic mnemonic (because it served to remind the owner that he/she should remember something, although amusingly gives no clue as to what exactly should be remembered). The phrase 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain' is a mnemonic for the colours/colors of the rainbow in order, matching the first letters to Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet. The word is pronounced 'nemonic' and is commonly misspelled ('numonic'). It's from Greek mnemon, mindful. The study of the development and assistance of memory is called mnemonics or mnemotechnics. Most mnemonic devices operate by association, i.e., by linking the thing to be recalled (which is typically lacking in memorability or pattern or imagery) with something such as an acronym, phrase or rhyme (which ideally contain strong memorability, pattern, imagery, etc) and which correlates or matches the key words in some way. Some mnemonics can become very deeply embedded into the brain, especially those which are learned in formative childhood years, so that they can be recalled effortlessly after several decades of not being used

Mob
A crowd of people - usually unruly and agitated. Mob is actually a shortened version of the full Latin phrase, mobile vulgus, meaning excitable crowd. The term was abbreviated in English first as 'mobile', in the 1600s. In more recent times the meaning of mob has become much wider - notably slang for gangsters (hence 'mobsters'), and in modern times to expressions such as 'flash mob', whose full technical meaning (aside from its earliest underworld meaning) is a secretly planned, surprising and quickly-formed excitable crowd.

Moderator
An arbitrator or mediator. Someone who presides over a debate. On the Internet - a person who presides over a website forum to make sure that rules and guidelines are adhered to

Mogul
Also called a tycoon. A very rich, powerful business person.

Mom-and-Pop/Mom-and-Pop Shop
Chiefly and originally an American term for a small shop or business (e.g., Mom-and-Pop Business) that traditionally was and frequently nowadays still is run by a married couple, who are often the main staff too. These small businesses are characterized typically as being small in economic terms, and usually old-fashioned, slow to adapt, resistant to change and new technology, ideas, etc., with little or no ambition to grow. As such, marketing executives, managers and sales people of much larger organizations tend to regard 'mum-and-pop' businesses with a degree of disdain. While plentiful in numbers across many sectors and therefore overall accounting for potentially big market shares, mom-and-pop businesses are extremely difficult to profile, assess, and target in sales and marketing, which combined with a reputation for stubbornness (based often on mom and pop having very good knowledge and experience of their own industries), makes them very challenging for suppliers to reach, engage in dialogue, and to convert to new products and services. Small order values and high maintenance expectations commonly associated with mom-and-pop businesses add to the difficulties faced by corporations attempting to sell and serve them. Many mom-and-pop shops/businesses might in more modern times also be described as 'lifestyle businesses', where the owners quite intentionally maintain a small simple and easily manageable scale of operation, so as to fit with a happier work-life balance. Some suggest this adds to the (arguably envy-driven) resentment which can be felt and displayed by large corporations and staff trying to market to mom-and-pop shops.

Monetary Base
Also known as Narrow Money in the UK. The total amount of a country's currency which is in circulation, for example, coins, notes, etc. - held by individuals and in bank deposits

Money At Call
A loan or debt which must be paid upon demand

Money Spinner
A product or project that generates a lot of earnings

Monopoly
A situation in which one company or organisation has complete control of all, or nearly all, of the market for a particular type of product or service

Monopsony
Also known as Buyers Monopoly, a market in which there is only one customer for a product or service being sold by several sellers

MOOC
Acronym for 'Massive Open Online Course' - conceivably the future of most higher/further education globally - see MOOC on the acronyms page

Moore's Law
Founder of Intel Gordon Moore's theory that the power of computing has the potential to double every two years (often quoted as every 18 months)

Moral Hazard
The situation in businesses and organisations when people are protected, e.g. by insurance cover, so they are more likely to take risks