unit 9

• synergy


  the idea that the value and performance of 2 businesses combined will be greater than the sum of the two parts
• economies of scale 


  a reduction in costs as a result of an increase in size of an operating unit
• economies of scope 


  The average total cost of production decreases as a result of increasing the number of different products produced
• experience curve 


  The more you do something, the better you get at it, enabling quicker and cheaper production
• retrenchment 


  Reducing the overall size and diversity of a business' operations.
• organic growth 


  Expansion of a business from its own internally generated resources
• external growth 


  Growth achieved through acquisitions
• diseconomies of scale 


  Where economies of scale no longer occur and unit cost begin to increase
• overtrading 


  Where a business grows too quickly, undertaking more business than its working capital can cope with
• grieners model of growth

  Different phases of a business' growth and provides a framework to help understand different organisation structures and coordination methods
• mergers 


  Where two or more businesses join together by mutual consent.
• takeover/acquisitions 


  Where one business acquires control over the assets of another business
• joint venture 


  A business arrangement where two or more businesses agree to pool their resources for a specific task.
• franchising 


  A method of growth where an existing business grants another party the right to use its trade name and sell its products or service.
• innovation 


  The process of converting an invention into a good, service or process that creates value for a business.
• intrapreneurship 


  The practice of entrepreneurship that exists within an established business.
• benchmarking 


  A strategic and analytical process of continuously measuring an organisation's products and practices against a recognised leader.
• intellectual property


  Refers to creations of the mind, such as invention, literary and artistic work.
• patent 


  a government licence that gives the holder exclusive rights to a process, design or new invention.
• trademark 


  A recognised name, logo, slogan or design that denotes a specific profit and legally differentiates it from others.
• copyright 


  The legal protection provided to the work of authors, composters and artists.
• offshoring 


  The moving of the operations of a business to another country.
• multinational company


  A business that has facilities and other assets in more than one country.
• digital technology 


  Use of digital resources to effectively find. Analyse, create, communicate and use information in a digital context.
• e-commerce 


  The buying and selling of goods and services through an electron medium.
• big data 


  Ever-increasing amount of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data that have the potential to be mined for information.
• data mining 


  The process used by organisations to turn large amounts of data (big data) into useful information.
• enterprise resource planning 


  The business management software system by which an organisation manages and integrates the important parts of its business.