Essential Business & Management Terminology

Authoritarian

Expecting others to obey rules completely.

Demanding

Needing a lot of your time and energy.

Consensual

Involving the agreement of most people in a group; democratic.

Coaching

Giving training or advice for a specific job or task.

Mentoring

Advising and helping someone more generally over a longer time period.

Empowerment

Giving control over decisions to other people.

Liaison

Exchange of information between people so that they work well together.

Hierarchical

Where people and jobs are divided into many levels of importance.

Proactive

Taking action before it's needed, rather than waiting until problems develop.

Qualities

Part of your character and personality, often present at birth or developed early in life. Hard to change.

Skills

Can be developed and improved through practice and experience.

Person Specification

Includes the skills needed, experience required, and personal qualities of the ideal candidate.

Thorough

Including every possible detail and avoiding mistakes.

Setback

A problem that delays or stops progress.

Stakeholder

All those people who have an interest in the success of a plan, system, or organization.

Targets

Specific things you try to achieve.

Contingency Plan

A course of action you will take if something bad happens in the future.

Assumptions

Beliefs used as the basis for an idea, but which may not be correct.

Trends

Gradual changes or development tendencies.

Big Picture

The whole situation or overall context.

Role

The way in which someone is involved in an activity; a position.

Empathy

Understanding how other people feel.

Intuition

Knowledge based on feelings rather than on facts.

Leaders vs. Managers

Understanding the distinct approaches of leaders and managers:

• Leader

  Looks at the big picture, welcomes change, excels at motivating and influencing, and often works well alone.

• Manager

  Looks at the details, welcomes stability, excels at supervising, and works well as team members.

Prudent

Sensible and careful.

Liability

Legal responsibility for something.

Sue

To start a legal process to get money from someone.

Indemnity

Formal protection against loss or damage.

Vandalism

Deliberately damaging things.

Awards Damage

Makes a decision to give someone compensation (in a legal context).

Exclusion Clauses

Sections of contracts that specify what is not covered.

Renewal Notice

A written reminder that a contract is going to end, and if payment is not made, it will not continue.

Pay Out

To give money as a result of an insurance claim.

Bad Debt

Money that will likely never be collected from customers.

Compliance

The practice of obeying laws and regulations.