1. Alicia Hunter
Glossary of Terms.
Range of businesses – the variety of different types of business.
Three useful ways of classifying business are: according to where
they operate; what the businesses are trying to achieve; and the
sector of the business activity they are involved in
Primary sector – extracting raw products from nature
Secondary sector – transforming those raw products into finished or part-finished
goods
Tertiary sector – providing services to individuals and businesses
Manufacturing – making things (in the secondary sector)
Retailing – selling things in small quantities (shops in the tertiary sector)
Public service – emphasis on providing high-quality service to the public rather than
focusing on narrow self-interest
Running costs – day-
Privatised – when the ownership of a to-day costs incurred
business has been transferred from the in operating a firm or
facility
government to private owners
Control – the process of making sure that things are done in expected ways Line of control –
where individuals are responsible to a line manager or supervisor. The senior colleague will
be responsible for making more important decisions
Cascade – to pass
information on to a
succession of others
Business environment – all of the outside influences on a business. These include
government actions, actions by competitors and changes in the law
Variable costs – costs that vary with the level of output or sales Fixed costs – the costs
of running a business, such as rent and wages Contribution – how much money each
unit of an item sold brings in towards paying off the fixed costs of a business (revenue,
or income, minus variable cost)