Glossary
BTEC Level 3 Business. Unit 1: Exploring Business
Annual reports - A detailed account of business activity over a year produced by limited companies to communicate with shareholders
Business ownership - The structure of a business in terms of who is responsible for investment, liability, and profits.
Business purpose - The reason why a business was created which drives strategy.
Business vision - A statement in a strategic plan that identifies an idealised picture of the future state that a company hopes to achieve.
Charitable trust - An organisation funded by donors to distribute assets in a way that benefits others.
Committees - A group of stakeholders who meet on a regular basis to discuss a specific topic. Internal and external stakeholders may be included.
Competitors - Their objectives are to gain market share from rival businesses so will be interested in products and practices of competition to devise strategies to outperform them.
Cooperative - A business that is owned and managed by its members.
Corporate social responsibility - An organisation's plan to improve their impact on society.
Customer loyalty - The customer's preference for a business; usually expressed in regular purchases from them.
Customers - Their objectives are to have high-quality products and reasonable prices.
Email - A method of communicating with a large number of stakeholders by quickly sending electronic letters via the internet.
Employees - Their objectives are job security, good pay and good working conditions.
External stakeholders - Suppliers, lenders, competitors, government, trade payables, trade receivables etc
Government agencies - Organisations supported by the government but operate independently, e.g. British Film Institute
Government department - A division of the government that is responsible for meeting an area of their objectives. E.g. infrastructure.
Government departments - Parts of the government staffed by government employees with the aim of achieving government objectives, e.g. department for education
Innovative processes - Changes in how a company's production and other activities are carried out. Frequently to improve efficiency.
Innovative products - Products that are new or have been modified to meet changing customer demands.
Interest groups - Groups of people who work together for similar interests or goals
Internal stakeholders - managers, owners and employees
International business - An organisation involved in cross-border purchasing, selling, and trading of goods and services.
International communities - Residents around the world that may be affected by the activities of a business
Large business - Organisations with more than 250 members of staff
Leaflets - Visual communication combining images and text, typically printed on a single sheet of paper. This can be used to advertise special offers to customers.
Lenders - Their objectives are for businesses to borrow money and make regular repayments with interest.
Letters - Written communication from a company and delivered by mail.
Limited liability - A legal status in which a person can only lose the amount invested in a business if the business fails to cover its expenses. The investor will not have to give up any personal assets to repay business debts.
Local business - A business that provides goods or services to a small community, such as a town or city.
Local communities - The residents of the area in close proximity to a business
Managers - Their objective is to meet departmental targets and have opportunities for career progression.
Medium business - Organisations with between 50 and 249 members of staff.
Meetings - A group of people meeting in person to discuss issues. Limited companies are required to hold an AGM (Annual General Meeting) once a year, to which all shareholders are invited.
Micro business - Organisations with up to nine members of staff.
National business - A company that sells goods or services to customers all over the country, either through multiple branches or online.
National communities - Residents of the country that a business operates in
Newsletters - A bulletin distributed on a regular basis to inform stakeholders about events taking place in an organisation.
Not-for-profit sector - The sector of the economy made up of organisations formed for reasons other than profit, such as providing a service to society.
Owners - Their objective is for the business to be successful, increase in value and return a profit to be distributed.
Partnership - A business owned by two or more people who share its risks and rewards.
Pressure groups - A type of special interest group which consist of individuals with a common concern who seek to place demands on organisations to act in a particular way or to influence change in their behaviour (e.g. Greenpeace and PETA)
Primary sector - The sector of the economy concerned with the extraction of natural resources. For example, farming, fishing, and mining.
Private limited company - A business that is owned by shareholders who cannot trade their shares on a stock market.
Private sector - The part of the economy that owned and controlled by individuals and companies rather than the government.
Public limited company - A business owned by its shareholders who can trade shares on the stock market.
Public sector - Organisations and departments owned and controlled by the government. This includes schools, hospitals and the military in most countries.
Quaternary sector - The sector of the economy concerned with intellectual pursuits and activities. Examples include research and development, information technology, and education.
Scope of business - The variety of activities that a business engages in.
Secondary sector - The sector of the economy concerned with the transformation of raw materials into finished and semi-finished goods. For example, housing construction, automobile manufacturing, and a restaurant kitchen.
Shareholder value - Returns that shareholders earn from purchasing shares in a company
Shareholders - The owners of a corporation. Their share represents the amount of the company they own. They have limited liability.
Small business - Organisations with between 10 and 49 members of staff.
SME - Small and medium enterprise. Organisations with between 10 and 249 members of staff.
Sole trader - A business owned and operated by one person who takes all the risks and keeps all of the profits.
Stakeholders - Individuals and groups who are impacted by a business and have a vested interest in its operation.
Success factors - A set of indicators that can be used to evaluate a company's performance and determine its success.
Suppliers - Their objective is to receive regular orders and payments on time.
Technology in communication - Use of email, websites, social media, Zoom and other video conferencing to communicate with stakeholders.
Tertiary sector - The sector of the economy concerned with service provision. Examples include hairdressing, retail, transportation, financial services, and real estate.
Trade payables - Their objectives are for the business to pay their invoices within the agreed payment terms.
Trade receivables - Their objective is to be given good payment terms to give them time to arrange payments in a way that does not negatively affect their cash flow.
Unlimited liability - The legal obligation of a company's owners to repay its debts, even if it means using personal assets such as their home or savings.
Voluntary organisation - Organizations established to provide services to benefit others in which workers are not compensated for their efforts.