Opportunities,

Threats analysis,

SWOT analysis - a company identifies its internal strengths and weaknesses and the external opportunities and threats it faces, so that it can be more profitable and competitive.

System analysis – identifying the goals and problem areas of a company, department or project, and producing a proposal as to how they can be achieved or resolved through reorganization, in conjunction with computer networks and information technology.

Systems theory has had a significant effect on management science and understanding organizations. A system is a collection of parts unified to accomplish an overall goal. If one part of the system is removed, the nature of the system is changed as well. For example, a pile of sand is not a system. If one removes a sand particle, you’ve still got a pile of sand. However, a functioning car is a system. Remove the carburetor and you’ve no longer got a working car. A system can be looked at as having inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Systems share feedback among each of these four aspects of the systems.

The effect of systems theory in management is that writers, educators, consultants, etc. are helping managers to look at the organization from a broader perspective. Systems theory has brought a new perspective for managers to interpret patterns and events in the workplace and recognize the various parts of the organization and the interrelations of the parts.

T

Tax — a charge usually of money imposed by authority upon persons or property for public purposes.

Taxation — the action of taxing; esp.: the imposition of taxes.

to take over — to take control of something:

IBM is taking over a much smaller company.

Trade – the buying and selling of goods, services, currencies or securities.

The Japanese businesspeople also have a strong sense of curiosity and are extremely concerned with the acquisition of information. They have a never-ending interest in how their counterparts in foreign countries do their work, what types of unique experiences they have, and what results they are consequently achieving. For example, when Nissan Motors began building the Austin, Nissan engineers are said to have visited the engineers of the Austin and showered them with questions. Nowadays as well, whether in groups or individually, large numbers of Japanese flock to foreign trade shows to scour for new achievements with their own eyes and ears, and to explore and evaluate the potential of novel ideas.

Trade customers — people in a supply chain, who buy from a supplier and then sell to another customer or the end-user.

The size of the market may be more important than we imagine. As Mr Smith notes, four of the top five HDI countries share the Common Law. They also speak English. In a world in which national and cultural barriers still bite, America’s wealth could be chalked up to the fact that it is uniquely large and uniform nation. Common rules, culture, language, and so on facilitate high levels of trade and mobility. National and cultural barriers within Europe, by contrast, work to limit the extent to which the economic potential of the continent can be reached.

Trust:

- a feeling that you trust someone or something;

- an arrangement whereby a bank provides safekeeping and management of funds for individuals, estates or institutions such as pension funds;

- the term also refers to a specific form of monopolistic practice, and sometimes to monopoly in general — as in «antitrust law».

U

Ubiquitous — existing or being everywhere at the same time: widely or generally present.

Unemployment – being out of work; the number of people in a country out of work.

Economists disagree about the effects of minimum wage legislation. Many argue that as with any floor price it will lead to excess supply, which in this case means unemployment. Others argue that the labor market is not like product markets and, if wages are generally low, the increased wage level may actually increase the incentive to work among those who are unemployed and living on benefits.

In the UK unemployment is defined as the percentage of the workforce out of work but seeking employment and registered for state benefits. The percentage in mid-1997 was 8 per cent and falling, which is about a million of the workforce of 27 million.

Unemployment rate:

- indicator of economic activity that compares the number of people in the labor force to the number looking for work;

- percentage of the labor force unable to find jobs.

Upturn – an increase in the level of activity; an increase in sales or profit.

V

Valid –

- legally or officially acceptable;

- reasonable and generally accepted;

- accepted by a computer system.

A contract is an agreement between two or more persons, which may be enforced if the law is properly invoked. In every contract, therefore, it may be inferred that some right is acquired by one party and a correlative obligation or liability is undertaken by the other. Rights and obligations may attach to each party, but the nature of the contract must be considered in order to determine in whom the primary right resides.

It will be shown later that for a contract to be valid certain essentials must be satisfied; and if any one of such essentials is deficient, the contract may be either voidable or void. And even if every essential of a valid contract is satisfied, it may be unenforceable by reason of non-compliance with certain formal requirements.

A voidable contract is one, which is capable of affirmation or repudiation at the option of one of the parties, such as the contract entered into by an infant which confers rights of a continuous nature on him, e.g., the purchase of shares in a limited company. A void contact is one that is destitute of legal effect, e.g., a wagering contract for «differences» on a stock exchange, and is therefore, in reality, no contract at all. From the usually accepted definition, it might be inferred that a void contract is illegal, but whilst it is true that an illegal contract, i.e., one which contravenes the law, whether common law or statute law, is void, the latter term is much wider in its application and a contract may be void though not illegal.

Value:

- the amount that something is worth, measured especially in money;

- the degree to which someone or something is useful or important;

- the amount that something is worth compared to the money that it costs.

Venture:

- an undertaking involving chance, risk, or danger;

- a new business or activity.

Venture capital – money available for high-risk investments.

Venture capitalist – outside investor who provides money for financing start-ups.

to venture:

- to go somewhere unpleasant, dangerous, or exciting;

- to be brave enough to say something.

Verbal communication vs. non-verbal communication – linguistic means of imparting information in business (words, terms, phrases, idioms, sentences, texts, etc.)

Vertical integration – the combination of two or more companies that deal with different stages in the production of specific goods or services to be controlled by one company.

Voting right – delegable right of a common stock (ordinary share) holder to take part in a firm’s decision-making process by voting on matters of policy and to choose members of the board of directors.

Such matters include issuance of additional stick, stick splits, and substantial changes in the firm’s business. Most common shares have one vote each, and preferred stock (preference share) holders usually also have the right to vote when their dividends remain unpaid for a specified period.

W

Wages — the price paid for the use of labor. To the economist, the term refers to the nation’s wealth paid to labor, as distinct from other forms of income — rent, interest, and profit

Wall Street:

- the US stock market;

- the area in New York City where the US stock exchange and other major financial institutions are based.

Web lifestyle – lifestyle that takes advantage of the World Wide Web-based opportunities for information retrieval, buying online, networking, etc.

Workforce – all the employees of an organization; sometimes just the blue-collar employees.

Z

Zeal — great energy, effort, and enthusiasm.

Zest – a feeling of great enthusiasm or interest.

Zip code – postcode (Am)