Page 693 - Introduction to Business

GLOSSARY G-19

sole proprietorships Individually operated unincorporated in which the firms stand to gain through cooperation with
businesses (Ch 3) each other for specific purposes and for a given period of
span of control The number of employees directly reporting time (Ch 2)
to, or being supervised by, a given manager (Ch 5) strategic goals Long-term goals related to an organization’s
specialization of labor Grouping employees to work on mission statement (Ch 5)
assigned tasks on the basis of their specific skills and fac- strategies More detailed descriptions of how a goal can be
tory demand (Ch 1) achieved; Ways that companies use to achieve their objec-
specialty stores Stores that carry a broad assortment in a tives; (Ch 4; Ch 8)
single merchandise line (Ch 10) strategy formulation The formulation of the approach to
sponsoring Underwriting the cost of an event (Ch 10) achieving strategic goals (Ch 5)
stable currency A currency with a value that does not fluctu- structured interviews Interviews where all job applicants are
ate wildly (Ch 2) asked a specific set of questions (Ch 6)
staff authority The right to provide advice, support, and spe- subcontract An option where products are produced by a
cial expertise within an organization (Ch 5) third party (Ch 16)
stakeholder company A business that takes into consideration subjective evaluation methods Performance appraisals based
the interests of all its partners, including its customers, on less-well-defined criteria (Ch 6)
management, employees, suppliers, and society (Ch 1) subsidiaries New facilities built and operated overseas by
stakeholder model of business governance The business gov- MNEs that require large investment of capital given the
ernance model operating from the premise that the pur- fact that these new establishments are tailored to the exact
pose of businesses is to benefit all groups with a needs of the MNEs (Ch 2)
meaningful stake in them (Ch 3) succession planning Planning related to choosing successors
standard of deferred payment The function of money to be for top organization executives (Ch 5)
employed in recording the amount of debt payments supercomputers Extremely powerful computers specifically
(Ch 14) designed for applications requiring complex calculations
standardization strategy Using the same product mix for at a very high speed (Ch 17)
international and domestic markets (Ch 9) supermarkets Large food stores that sell a wide variety of food
star network A network topology where a host computer is and nonfood items (Ch 10)
connected to several, typically smaller computers and all supplier selection An evaluation of different supply sources in
communications among computers in the network must order to select one or more (Ch 16)
pass through the host computer (Ch 17) supply chain All activities associated with the flow and trans-
state enterprises Government-owned firms that produce formation of finished goods from the raw material stage
goods and services, generally in command and mixed eco- through to the end user, together with the corresponding
nomic systems (Ch 1) flows of monetary funds and information (Ch 18)
stated interest rate The nominal interest rate, also referred to supply chain management (SCM) The management of all
simply as the interest rate in the everyday financial news activities in the supply chain, in order to minimize the
(Ch 13) total costs of the chain, and to maximize the value to the
statement of cash flows The financial statement that presents end user (Ch 18)
cash inflows (receipts) and outflows (payments) under supply curve The curve that shows that the relationship
three categories of business activities: operating activities, between the quantity supplied and the price of a product
investing activities, and financing activities (Ch 12) or service (It is upward sloping.) (Ch 1)
statement of financial position Another name for the balance supravoting shares Shares of a corporation’s stock that have
sheet (Ch 12) superior voting rights (Ch 3)
statement of retained earnings The financial statement that surplus The amount of a good or service that will not be sold
shows the change in retained earnings from the beginning when the price of the good or service is set above the equi-
of the period to the end of the period (Ch 12) librium price (Supply will exceed demand.) (Ch 1)
Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) survival objective A pricing objective related to a firm remain-
Statements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards ing in business (Ch 9)
Board that are part of the highest level of generally sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) A strategy that
accepted accounting principles (Ch 11) gives a firm a significant edge over competition and can be
stock options A type of compensation that gives managers the maintained over an extended length of time (Ch 8)
right to buy common shares of stock at a predetermined sweepstakes Chances for a consumer to win a prize or money,
price; The right to buy company stock at a predetermined such as through a drawing (Ch 10)
price (Ch 4; Ch 6) system software The set of software programs that manage
stock price The market value of a share of stock issued by a and support the operations of a computer system
firm (Ch 4) (Ch 17)
store of value The function of money to retain its value over system specifications The specifications of the computer
time (Ch 14) hardware, computer software, databases, telecommunica-
straight rebuy A routine purchasing situation for organiza- tions networks, and people resources that will be needed
tions that requires little or no time or effort to con- by the information system (Ch 17)
clude (Ch 8) system testing Verifying that individual programs will func-
strategic alliances Marriages of convenience between two or tion together as planned (Ch 17)
more firms that do not involve the creation of a separate systems analysis The identification of what the information
entity with joint ownership (nonequity arrangements) and system should do (Ch 17)

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