Glossary of business terms

1. Business- the organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit,
the goods and services that satisfy society’s needs.
2. Economy- the system through which a society answers the three economic
questions-what, how, and for whom.
3. Economics- the study of how wealth is created and distributed.
4. Free-market economy- an economic system in which individuals and firms
are free to enter and leave markets at will.
5. Consumer- individual who purchase goods or services for his own personal
use rather than to resell them.
6. Producer- a person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies
goods or commodities for sale.
7. Supply- the quantity of a product that producers are willing to sell at each of
various prices.
8. Demand- the quantity of a product that buyers are willing to purchase at
each of various prices.
9. Price- the amount of money that a seller is willing to accept in exchange for
a product, at a given time and under given circumstances.
10.Competition-a rivalry among businesses for sales to potential customers.
11.Fair/ pure competition- the market situation in which there are many buyers
and sellers of a product, and no single buyer or seller is powerful enough to
affect the price of that product.
12.Oligopoly- a market situation (or industry) in which there are few sellers.
13.Monopoly- a market (or industry) with only one seller.
14.Monopolistic competition- a market situation in which there are many
buyers along with relatively many sellers who differentiate their products
from the products of competitors.
15.Barter- a system of exchange in which goods or services are traded directly
for other goods and/or services- without using money.
16.Business Ethics- the application of moral standards to business situations.
17.Social Responsibility-the recognition that business activities have an impact
on society, and the consideration of that impact in business decision making.
18.Career- an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life
and with opportunities for progress.
19.Business Writing- one type of communication that is used in the corporate
world from emails, memos, new policies and instructions to huge client
presentations, research and development, and marketing campaigns.
20.Application Letter- a letter submitted in support of an application for
something, especially a job.

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21.Curriculum Vitae- a brief account of a person's education, qualifications,
and previous occupations, typically sent with a job application.
22.Interview-a conversation between an employer and a candidate to obtain a
job.
23.Sole proprietorship- a business that is owned (and usually operated) by one
person.
24.Partnership- an association of two or more persons to act as co-owners of a
business for profit.
25.Corporation-an artificial person created by law, with most of the legal rights
of a real person, including the right to start and operate a business, to own or
dispose of property, to borrow money, to sue or to be sued, and to enter into
binding contracts.
26.Company-a commercial business.
27.Board of directors-the top governing body of a corporation, the members of
which are elected by the stockholders.
28.Entrepreneurship-the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking
on financial risks in the hope of profit.
29.Share-one of the equal parts into which a company's capital is divided,
entitling the holder to a proportion of the profits.
30.Shareholder/Stockholder- a person who owns a corporation’s stock.
31.Management- the process of coordinating the resources of an organization
to achieve the primary goals of the organization.
32.Business plan-a carefully constructed guide for the person starting one’s
own business.
33.Strategy- an organization’s broadest set of plans, developed as a guide for
major policy setting a decision making; it defines what business the
company is in or wants to be in and the kind of company it is.
34.Objective-a specific statement detailing what an organization intends to
accomplish as it goes about its mission.
35.Policy- a general guide for action in a situation that occurs repeatedly.
36.Human resources management- all the activities involved in acquiring,
maintaining, and developing an organization’s human resources.
37.Manager- a person responsible for controlling or administering an
organization or group of staff.
38.Motivation- the individual, internal process that energizes, directs, and
sustains behavior; the personal “force” that causes one to behave in a
particular way.
39.Business negotiation-The act of discussing an issue between two or more
parties with competing interests with an aim of coming to an agreement.
40.Socializing- the act of meeting for social purposes.