Business Terminology Glossary

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is a business practice in which a company hires another company or an individual to perform tasks, handle operations, or provide services that were either usually executed or previously done by the company's own employees.

Marketing Mix (MX)

Essential to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4 Ps make up a typical marketing mix: Price, Product, Promotion, and Place, including packaging, positioning, people, and even politics.

Raw Materials

Raw materials are materials or substances used in primary production or manufacturing.

Trade Union

A trade union is an organization whose membership consists of workers and union leaders, united to protect and promote their common interests. The principal purposes of a labor union are to:

1. Negotiate wages and working condition terms.
2. Regulate relations between workers (its members) and the employer.
3. Take collective action to enforce the terms of collective bargaining.
4. Raise new demands on behalf of its members.
5. Help settle their grievances.

Marketing

Marketing is the management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of marketing.

Household

A household includes all persons living under one roof or occupying a separate housing unit, having either direct access to the outside (or to a public area) or a separate cooking facility. Where the members of a household are related by blood or law, they constitute a family.

Depreciation (Currency)

Depreciation is the reduction in the exchange value of a currency, either by a government or due to weakening of the underlying economy in a floating exchange rate system.

Background Computing

Background computing includes downloading, uploading, printing, saving, or other such jobs performed by a computer while the user is busy with another program on the same computer.

Freelance

Freelancing is working on a contract basis for a variety of companies, as opposed to working as an employee for a single company. Freelancers are often considered to be self-employed and have the freedom to pick and choose their projects and companies they would like to be associated with.