Basic Operational Management Glossary part 6 from POME by Gautam Koppala

Intangible Assets - non-physical assets such as patents

, trademarks, a customer base, brand recognition of your products, etc. This is sometimes called goodwill.

Intellectual Capital - The skills and knowledge of a company's employees, which can be used to make the company more successful than its competitors.

Intellectual Property - Commonly abbreviated to IP, an idea or creation, e.g., artwork, writing, etc., that belongs to an individual or organisation, which has commercial value and therefore cannot be copied or sold without the owner's permission.

Inter Alia - Latin for 'among other things' - a traditional term which typically precedes a list of examples, and is found in official or formal text or various sorts. Inter alios means 'among other people', but is much less used.

Interest Rate - A fee which is charged for borrowing money, e.g., a loan from a bank or financial institution, lease arrangement, goods bought through hire purchase, etc.

Intermediary - A mediator or agent who negotiates between two parties who are unable or unwilling to reach an agreement by themselves.

Internal Equity - In a company or organisation, ensures the pay each employee receives is determined fairly by the type of job they do.

International Monetary Fund - IMF. Established in 1944 by the United Nations to monitor foreign exchange systems and encourage trade between member nations. It also lends money to developing countries with economic problems.

International Organisation For Standardization - ISO. A non-government organisation with over 150 member nations, which promotes international standards in trade, technology, science, economy, etc.

Internesia - Relating to the Internet. Being unable to locate a particular website which you found interesting or on which you saw a useful piece of information.

Intervention Price - A guaranteed minimum price set by a government for a product, usually farm produce. If the price falls below this then the government, or agency, will buy the produce at the Intervention Price.

Interventionism - The policy of a government to intervene and manipulate a country's (often its own) affairs and/or economy.

Intestate - Without leaving a will, as used in the phrase, 'to die intestate'.

Intrapreneur - A person employed by a large company to work independently to develop new projects and business within the company.

Intrinsic Value - The actual or real value of a business, commodity, asset, etc., rather than the market value or share price.

Invention - A new device, process, product, etc., which has been created and developed by an individual or a group.

Inventory Turnover - a ratio for evaluating sales effectiveness. For a given accounting period divide total revenue for the product by the average retail value of the product inventory.

Investment - Money or capital that is invested in a business or in an account with a financial institution in order to make a profit or earn interest.

Investment Boutique - A small company which offers specialist advice about investments and business.

Invisibles - 'Invisible' services of a country, such as banking, tourism, insurance, etc, of which the buying and selling are from international trade.

Involuntary Liquidation - When a company is forced into bankruptcy by its creditors, so that its debts can be paid.

Island Position - An advertisement or commercial which is surrounded by text, or placed between TV programs, with no other advertisements, so it has no competition.

Issue Price - On the Stock Exchange, the price at which a new share, stock, etc., is offered to the public.

Jasdaq - Japanese Association of Securities Dealers Automated System. Japanese securities exchange, the headquarters of which are situated in Tokyo.

Job Costing - A system of calculating the cost of each individual job or project carried out by a business, includes time, labour, materials, etc.

Job Lock - A situation in which a person feels they cannot leave their job because they are afraid of losing benefits connected to the job.

Job Protected Leave - Allows people to officially take time off from their work for a longer period without the fear of losing their job, often because of illness or pregnancy.

Job Sharing - A work schedule in which two or more people voluntary do one full-time job, sharing the work and dividing the hours between them.

Joint Consultation - An organisational decision-making

process in the UK, where managers and employees representatives, usually from unions, meet to discuss matters relating to the employees working conditions, etc.

Joint Stock Company - A company or organisation owned by joint shareholders, which is a type of corporation and partnership. The stockholders run the company and share its profits and debts.

Junk Bond - Also known as High Yield Bonds. A high risk bond with a high interest rate, often used by companies to raise finances in order to take over other companies.

Just-In-Time - JIT. A manufacturing system in which materials and components are delivered immediately before they are required, in order to increase efficiency, reduce waste and minimise storage costs.

Kaizen - Japanese for 'improvement'. When implemented in the workplace, Kaizen activities help to improve the running of a business.

Kanban - Japanese for 'visible record'. In industry, a manufacturing system which is regulated by the use of cards or boards which contain specifications and instructions for the production process of goods.

Keiretsu - In Japan, an alliance of companies or organisations which own shares in one another as a means of security, but each individual company operates independently.

Kerb Market - In the US, the buying and selling of shares in companies which are not listed on the stock exchange. In the UK, the buying and selling of stocks and shares outside official trading hours.

Kettling - Term which is used to describe the police tactic of penning protesters into an area by forming a barrier around them and refusing to let them out.

Key Account - In business, a company's main client or customer, who represents a large percentage of the company's income.

Keyword Advertising - Used on the Internet. When a user types in a particular 'keyword', an advertisement which is linked to a business relevant to that word, is displayed alongside the search engine results.

Kickback - A bribe or illegal payment made to someone in exchange for a successful referral for a job or transaction.

Kidult - An adult who enjoys films, games, TV, clothes, etc., which are deemed more suitable for children or much younger people.

Killer App - Short for Killer Application. Derives from the computer industry. A new product or service which is the first in its category and therefore dominates that particular market, creating huge returns on the initial investment.

Kitemark - In the UK, the official mark of approval by the British Standards Institution, to show that a product or service is safe, reliable and of good quality.

Knocking Copy - In advertising, the criticism or attacking of a competitor or a rival product.

Knock-Off - An unauthorised copy of a product, usually designer clothing.

Knowledge Base - In a computer system, a database with a store of information, facts and rules which can be used for problem-solving.

Knowledge Worker - Also known as an Intellectual Worker. A person who is employed by a company to use their brain and intellect to work with information, rather than performing manual tasks.

Kudos - Common management term meaning positive recognition, praise or fame - from the Greek word kydos, meaning glory.

Labour - Work, especially manual/physical work, for wages.

Labour Intensive - A job requiring a lot of work, and often a lot of workers, in comparison to the costs of materials, equipment, etc.

Labour Law - Also known as Employment Law. Legislation which defines the legal rights and obligations of employees in the workplace.

Lading - Freight or cargo carried by a large vehicle. The act of loading cargo onto a ship.

Laicisation - The defrocking of a minister or priest. The changing to lay status.

Laid-Off - In industry, etc., when workers lose their jobs, sometimes temporarily, because there is no work for them.

Landing Page - On the Internet, the first page that visitors to a website arrive at after they've clicked on a link to the site.

Larceny - The crime of unlawfully taking someone else's property or money. Theft.

Large Cap - On the Stock Exchange, a company that has a large market capitalisation, i.e., a high total value of shares.

Law Of One Price - The rule that without trade barriers and transportations costs, identical products would cost the same worldwide using the appropriate exchange rate of currency.

Layaway - Often referred to as Lay-By. A means of purchasing an item by paying a small deposit to reserve it and then paying the balance in installments. When the total purchase price has been paid the customer can then take delivery of the goods.

Lead User - Term introduced by economist Eric von Hippel in 1986. Lead users are individuals or companies who greatly benefit from being the first to use or adapt a product for a particular need, often months or years before the general public or other businesses are aware of the need for the product.

Leading Indicator - A particular measure of a country's economic activity, used to predict near future economic trends.

Lean - Also known as the Toyota Production System or Just-In-Time Production. A system used in management, production, manufacturing, etc., to decrease waste and increase efficiency, especially with the use of automated assembly lines in the motor industry.

Learning Curve - A graph depicting the rate at which a person learns a new skill. A steep learning curve shows that a person is learning quickly, and a shallow learning curve means that a person is slower and taking more time to learn.

Lease Purchase - A finance agreement in which an item, usually a car, is leased for a certain period of time with an option to purchase at the end of the contract.

Leaseback - An arrangement between a purchaser of a property and the vendor in which the vendor immediately leases the property back from the purchaser.

Leave Of Absence - The period of time which a person is permitted by their employer to be absent from their job.

Legal Aid - Legal assistance provided , usually by the state, for people or organisations who cannot afford to pay for solicitors or legal advice.

Legal Entity - An individual or organisation who has the legal right to enter into a contract or an agreement, is responsuble for its actions, and can sue or be sued if the terms of the contract are broken.

Legal Reserve - The minimum amount of money, required by law, that a bank, insurance company, etc., must set aside in order to be able to operate.

Legal Tender - In day-to-day language the term generally refers to coinage or banknotes which have not been withdrawn or demonetised by the Bank of England and so are valid, but technically the term the UK refers to forms of currency which by law must be accepted by a creditor in payment of a debt.

Lemon - A defective product which is poor quality and fails to function as promised.

Lender Of Last Resort - A country's central bank which loans money to other banks or financial institutions which cannot borrow money from anywhere else and do not have enough reserves to cover cash withdrawals by their customers.

Letter Of Comfort - A letter of approval written to a bank by a parent company on behalf of a subsidiary company which needs financial backing.

Letter Of Indemnity - A document in which an individual, company, etc., guarantees to protect another from costs, liability, etc., as a result of certain actions which may be carried out.

Liabilities - Debts which are owed to someone, obligations or responsibilities which are legally binding.

Libertarian/Libertine - A person who believes in the freedom of speech and thought, and that people should be able to do whatever - within reason - they wish with minimal interference from government. The words derive from the Latin root liber, meaning free, like the word liberty, meaning freedom.

Licensing agreement - an agreement between two enterprises allowing one to sell the other's products or services and to use their name, sales literature, trademarks, copyrights, etc. in a limited manner.

Lien - A legal right to take and keep another persons property until a debt has been paid by the property owner.

Lieu - In lieu of means instead of, or in place of. 'Time off in lieu' means time given off work instead of payment for extra hours worked.

Life Tables - Also called Mortality Tables. Tables which show peoples life expectancy, depending on their age, lifestyle, etc., often used by insurance companies.

Lifeboat - An emergency loan offered to a company or bank which is in financial trouble.

Lightning Strike - A sudden strike by workers, with little or no warning. These strikes are often short in duration and usually without official union backing.

Limited Company - In the UK, a company that has a name ending in 'Ltd.' The owners of these companies have limited liability if the company gets into debt.

Limited Liability - In law, the owners and/or shareholders of a limited company only lose the amount they have invested if the company gets into debt.

Linchpin - The most important person or thing in a business or organisation.

Line Authority - In business, the power given to management allowing them to give orders and to control subordinates.

Liquidate - The closing down of a business by selling its assets to pay its debts.

Liquidated Damages - The fixed amount agreed upon by parties to a contract, to be paid to one party in the case of a breach of contract by the other party.

Liquidity - the percentage of an enterprise's assets that can be quickly converted into cash.

List Price - Known as 'Sticker Price' in the US. The advertised or recommended retail price (RRP) of a product.

List Rental - The renting, from an organisation, of a mailing list which has potential customer names and addresses, for a one-off mailing.

Litigant - A person or party who is involved in a court action or lawsuit.

Litigate - To legally settle a dispute in, or take a claim to, a court of law.

Litigious - To routinely or enthusiastically take legal action to settle disputes.

Litotes - A language term referring to understatement, used for emphasis, often ironically, in which the negative-opposite is used instead of the positive expression, for example, "It wasn't the best presentation I've ever given," when the speaker means that they considered it to have been a particularly poor one. Another example is the commonly used "Not bad," or "Not half Bad," when referring to something very good. The word litotes comes from Greek, litos, meaning single, simple or meagre.

Living Trust - A trust created in which assets can be transferred to someone while the grantor (the person who owns the assets) is still alive. Living Trusts avoid dealing with the legalities of a will.

Loan Shark - Someone who offers unsecured loans at excessive rates of interest.

Local Content Measure - Where a business or investor is required to purchase a certain amount of locally sourced materials to be used in the manufacturing, etc., of their product.

Lockout - A term used during an industrial dispute, when management closes down a workplace and bars employees from entering until they agree to certain terms and conditions.

Locus Standi - (Latin - place of standing) The right or capacity of a litigant to be heard or to bring an action in court.

Long Grass - To 'Kick something into the long grass' means to push a problem aside in the hope that it will be ignored or forgotten.

Long Position - A situation in which an investor or dealer holds onto shares, etc., which they have purchased, expecting them to rise in value in the future.

Long Term Assets - (sometimes called fixed assets) these are usually non-liquid assets that are integral to the enterprise's day to day business operations such as plants, equipment, furniture and real estate.

Long Term Liabilities - all debts that are not current liabilities, that is, debts that are not due until at least one calendar year in the future.

Long Term Liability - Taxes, leases, loans, etc., which are payable over a period greater than one year.

Loophole - An unintentional mistake in a contract or a law which allows people to evade an obligation in the contract, or to get round the law without actually breaking it.

Looping - In films, TV programs, etc., the process of dubbing the original film footage by synching (lining it up) with new or replacement dialogue.

Loss Leader - In retail, a product which is offered at a very low price to attract customers who will then buy other goods which will produce more profit for the retailer.

Low Hanging Fruit - A term used in business for something which is easily obtainable and highly visible, and provides a quick easy way to making a profit.

Low Yield - A term used to describe investments which are low risk and do not produce a high level of income.

Loyalty Card - A card given to customers by a retailer which gives the customer points, etc., every time they shop there. These points convert into vouchers which the customer can spend at the store at a later date.

Luddite - A derogatory term for someone who opposes or disapproves of new technology and/or new methods of working, often because the changes threaten jobs. From the Luddite rioters of 1811-16, who in defence of labourers' jobs in early industrial Britain wrecked new manufacturing machinery.

Magalog - A catalogue which appears to be a magazine, used for marketing purposes.

Magic bullet - A simple effective solution to a serious or complex problem, especially in medicine, for example a cure for a disease. The simplicity is for users, not necessarily for the developers.

Mail Merge - The process of automatically personalising a customised letter or document by using a list of individual names and addresses, so the same letter can be sent to many people.

Mail Order - The purchasing or selling of goods over the Internet, telephone, from catalogues, etc., which are delivered to the customer by mail.

Majority Interest - Owning more than 50% of the total shares in a company, and therefore more than 50% of the voting interest.

Make To Stock - In manufacturing, products which are made and stocked before customers orders have been received.

Makegood - In advertising, a free advertising slot given to a company by a TV station, magazine, etc., if the company's advert was previously run incorrectly.

Maladministration - In business or government, the act of incompetence or running a system in a dishonest way.

Managed Economy - An economy in which goods, allocation of resources and prices are determined by the government.

Managed Hosting - A type of Internet hosting in which the hosting supplier deals with technical issues and problems related to the website, in addition to the basic hosting of the website.

Management Buy-In - When a management team from outside a company acquires more than 50% of the company, so they become the majority shareholders, and then manage the company themselves.

Management Buy-Out - MBO. The purchase of all or part of a company by the company's existing managers.

Management By Exception - A management style in which managers give employees the authority to run projects, etc., by themselves and managers only become involved if the employees fail to meet certain criteria or standards.

Manager - A person who is in charge of a project, department, group, team, etc.

Mandate - Technically a legal or official document giving an order or instruction. More loosely it refers to a permission or approval. In politics or democratic situations such as trade unions it refers to an authorisation for leadership to act based on election or vote. Derived from Latin mandatum meaning 'something commanded', from manus (hand) and dare (give). Mandate is also a verb, meaning to empower someone to take action.

Mandatory Convertible Bond - Bonds that must be redeemed in shares by the company which issues them, usually by a specified date.

Margin - The difference in the price of producing a product and the price it sells for, calculated as a percentage, i.e., profit margin.

Margin Account - An account held by an investor with a broker in which the broker lends the investor money to purchase shares, etc., which are then used as collateral against the loan.

Margin Call - A demand by a broker for an investor to bring his margin account up to the minimum level required by depositing additional money, shares, securities, etc.

Marginal Productivity - The additional output of a product, etc., which is produced as a result of adding one unit of a resource, for example labour input, in the production process.

Market - The commercial activity of buying and selling goods and services. The customers who buy goods and services.

Market Basket - A way of measuring the cost of living. A collection of products or services which consumers buy on a regular basis, and the prices which are paid for them.

Market Clearing Price - The price of a product or service at which the level of demand equals the level of supply.

Market Control - A situation in which the quantity and/or price of goods or services is influenced by buyers or sellers.

Market Economy - A situation in which businesses operate in a free market, i.e., they are in competition with each other and are not under government control.

Market Forces - Influences, such as the availability of raw materials for the production of goods, or customer numbers, which affect supply, demand and prices of products and services.

Market Leader - A company or brand which has the highest sales of a particular product. A best-selling product.

Market Life Cycle - the period of time that a substantial segment of the buying public is interested in purchasing a given product or service form.

Market Orientation - A business strategy whereby a company focuses on meeting the customers needs and wants regarding products and services.

Market Penetration Price - A low price at which a new product is offered when it first comes onto the market, in order to attract customers, after which the price is usually increased.

Market Penetration Pricing Strategy - if near term income is not critical and rapid market penetration for eventual market control is desired, then you set your prices very low.

Market Research - The process of gathering and analysing information about customers, competitors, etc., in order to make decisions and solve problems connected with selling products or services.

Market Sector - Competing businesses which produce or buy similar goods and/or services. The customers for which certain goods and services are marketed.

Market Segment - A subgroup within a larger market in which people share certain characteristics and require similar products or services.

Market Segmentation - The process of identifying and dividing consumers into groups according to their purchasing behaviour.

Market Share - the percentage of the total sales (from all sources) of a service or product represented by the sales made by your enterprise. i.e. your sales divided by total sales

Market Test - The testing of a product or service in several areas of the country to see if customers will like it and want to buy it.

Marketing - The promotion and/or selling of a company, product, service, etc.

Marketing Mix - A set of marketing tools used by a company to sell its products and/or services to a target market.

Marketing Myopia - When a business is being shortsighted regarding the needs of its customers, only focusing on its products or short range goals and missing marketing opportunities.

Market-To-Market - The process of valuing a security, share, etc., on a daily basis to assess its current price, rather than its acquisition price or book value.

Mark-up - The amount a producer, retailer, etc., puts on the price of the goods or services they are selling in order to make a profit. To raise the price of an item which is for sale.

Marque - A brand name or model of a well-known manufactured product, especially an expensive car.

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs - Developed by Abraham Maslow in 1943. A fundamental motivational theory describing five stages of human needs which must be met in a particular order.

Mass Market - Describes products or services which have mass appeal and are aimed at large numbers of people or a whole population.

Mass Marketing - Marketing a product or service to the general public through the mass media, for example, TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.

Master Franchise - Allows companies or individuals the right to purchase a sub-franchise business which can be developed in a particular area or country.

Material Goods - normally raw or processed materials such as coal or steel that will become part of the purchaser's end product.

Material Requirements Planning - (MRP) The use of computer software to plan and manage a production process, for example the amount of materials or parts required, calculation of workload, delivery schedules, etc.

Maternity Leave - The time a pregnant employee is entitled to take off from her job before and after the birth of her baby. Entitlement to Maternity Leave depends on how long the woman has been with her employer.

Maternity Pay - An employee benefit paid to pregnant women when they take time off from their job to have their baby. Entitlement to Maternity Pay depends on how long they have worked for their employer and varies from country to country.

Mates Rates - To sell a product or service to a friend or family member at a discounted or reduced rate on the normal price.

Matrix Management - Also known as Dotted Line Responsibility. A system of management in which people from different departments in an organisation work together, so that each individual employee has two bosses, one functional and one operational. This is common in project management.

Maven - An expert, often self-proclaimed, in a particular field.

Maverick - An independent thinker who does not conform to accepted opinion on certain matters and takes a stand from other people.

Mediagenic - A tendency (for a person or activity, etc) to convey a favourable impression when reported by the media.

Meltdown - A situation in which something, or someone, suddenly dramatically ceases to function properly.

Meme - Originally a biological term referring to a behavioural characteristic which transfers non-genetically between people, meme increasingly refers more widely to other non-human characterstics or examples which arise as imitations of or variations on a particular theme.

Memo - Usually used for communication within an organisation. Memos can be formal letters or informal notes to colleagues.

Memorandum Of Association - When a company is formed, a legal document which is drawn up that contains details such as the company's name, type of company and its objectives, the number and value of shares, etc.

Memorandum Of Understanding - MOU. A, sometimes informal written agreement between two or more parties which establishes each party's responsibilities and requirements.

Menial (work, job, task) - Unskilled typically poorly paid work.

Mentor - Someone who is experienced and gives guidance and support to a person less experienced to help them develop and grow and achieve their goals.

Mercantile - Relating to trade or commerce.

Gautam Koppala,

Pome Author

Basic Operational Management Glossary part 6 from POME by Gautam Koppala

By: GAUTAM KOPPALA

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