Glossary

Business Terminology 

Aesthetics
How something feels or looks. Something that appeals to your five senses.

Commodity
A good which has no direct substitutes, e.g. cocoa

Franchise
When a company sells the rights to trade under that company's name to another company in a given area or region.

Franchisee
The person or business that buys a Franchise and now has to follow the regulations of the franchiser.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)          
 The value of all the goods and services bought and sold in a country annually. 

Market
A group of people with a common factor; such as those who want to buy a particular product, who come together to exchange, buy and sell virtually or physically.

Product Portfolio                            
  A company's range of products 


Stock Market
A system in which Public Limited Companies sell stocks/shares in their company and is the the where sellers and buyers come together to trade. This may be electronically or over the phone typically.


Unique Selling Point (USP)
An element or function that makes a product or service different from competitors' products and provides a reason to potential customers to buy your product or service over other brands. Similar to "Product Differentiation"

Wall Street Crash
The rapid depreciation in stock values on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929.

Economics Terminology

MICROECONOMICS
The study of individual markets and how firms and households make decisions.

MACROECONOMICS
This looks at the bigger picture. It looks at the economy as a whole as opposed to a single firm or market. It looks at the big issues surrounding an economy such as inflation and unemployment amongst others.

Ceteris Paribus
Providing that all other factors remain constant...

Complements
Goods or services often bought together. i.e. DVD Player and DVD disc.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
A list of popular products that are bought in large quantities. It is a weighted average used for indicating the change in price of these goods and services.

Cross Elasticity of Demand (X.E.D)
The responsiveness of the quantity demanded of Good A to a change in price of Good B. Or how the change in price of a product affects the demand of another product.

Free Goods
When the supply of a product is greater than the demand for it at a zero price. The expression "couldn't  even give it away for free" can be derived from this definition.

Income Elasticity of Demand (Y.E.D)
Measures the relationship between income and demand. e.g. How responsive the demand is of a given product when there is a change in income.

Inflation
A sustained rise in the general price level; Usually expressed as a percentage.

Opportunity Cost
Measuring what the sacrifice or compromise is of choosing a product over another, And what you have to forgo when choosing between two alternatives. 'The value of the next best alternative forgone.'

Price Elasticity of Demand(P.E.D)
The responsiveness of demand to a change in price.

        Price Elastic
        A product that is sensitive to changes in price. It's Price Elasticity of Demand figure will be >1.

       Price Inelastic
       A product whose demand stays relatively similar even despite changes on price e.g. addictive drugs.
       Its P.E.D. figure will be <1.

Price Elasticity of Supply (P.E.S)
The responsiveness of the quantity supplied to a change in price.

Product
In Economics a product can be either a good or service.

Substitute
A product that can be bought as an alternative to another product. Markets containing different substitutes are more competitive as the consumer has a choice as to whom they buy from.