Topic 2

Word

Definition

Example

business

an organization such as a company, shop, or factory that produces or sells goods or provides a service

The company began as a small family business.

downsize

if a company or organization downsizes, it reduces the number of people it employs in order to reduce costs

The airline has downsized its workforce by 30%.

bust

if a business goes bust, it cannot continue to operate because it does not have enough money to pay its debts

The company eventually went bust, leaving debts of £7 million.

community

the people who live in the same area, town etc

The new arts centre will serve the whole community.

concern

something that is important to you or that involves you

His main concern is to be able to provide for his family.

small business

a business with not many employees, or these businesses considered as a whole

They run a small business in Dorset.

firm

a business or company, especially a small one

She works for an electronics firm.

venture

a new business activity that involves taking risks

His bankruptcy was the result of several reckless business ventures.

enterprise

a company, organization, or business

The company started as a family enterprise.

corporation

a big company, or a group of companies acting together as a single organization

He works for a large American corporation.

commerce

the buying and selling of goods and services

Modern computing facilities are very much in demand by industry and commerce.

commercial

related to business and the buying and selling of goods and services

Our top priorities must be profit and commercial growth.

industry

business that produce a particular type of thing or provide a particular service

He joined ICI after working in the retailing and banking industries.

sector

all the organizations or companies in a particular area of activity, industry etc

The performance of the troubled housing sector is being watched very closely.

primary

most important

Many of the villagers rely on fishing as their primary source of income.

household

all the people who live together in one house

A growing number of households have at least one computer.

public

relating to the government and the services it provides for people

We do not believe he is fit for public office.

private

not related to, owned by, or paid for by the government

There is private ownership of property in a market economy.

goods

things that are produced in order to be used or sold

North Korea has no hard currency reserves to buy goods.

productive

producing or achieving something

The program is designed to help business users be more productive.

undertake

to accept that you are responsible for a piece of work and start to do it

His first task was to undertake a major reorganization of production methods.

mine

to dig large holes in the ground in order to remove coal, gold etc

Copper has been mined here since the sixteenth century.

retail

the sale of goods to customers for their own use, rather than to shops etc

His experience in retail includes managing a number of shopping centres in New Zealand.

raw

raw metals or other substances are in their natural state and have not been prepared or used to make anything

German companies produced 6.1% less raw iron in March.

variety

the differences within a group, set of actions etc that make it interesting

I really like the variety the store has to offer.

consist

to be formed from two or more things or people

The household may now consist of several teenagers or an elderly relative.

start-up

a new small company or business, especially one whose work involves computers or the Internet

Compared with the rest of the country, California now has above-average growth in jobs, exports and business start-ups.

business plan

a document that explains what a company wants to do in the future, and how it plans to do it

To raise the cash they need, managers will be required to give their bankers a three-year business plan.

lender

a person or organization that lends money to people on condition that they pay it back

Several lenders are offering very attractive rates of interest at the moment.

business angel

a private investor who puts money into new business activities, especially ones based on advanced technicalideas

In the UK, business angels are a more important source of investment for start-ups than venture capital funds.

venture capitalist

someone who invests money in new businesses

In the fourth quarter, venture capitalists invested $317 million in computer-related business start-ups.

backer

someone who supports a plan, person, or company, usually by giving money

The directors closed down the operation after the company's financial backers pulled out.

stakeholder

a person who is considered to be an important part of an organization or of society because they have responsibility within it and receive advantages from it

Chief executives of international companies want to spend more personal time on stakeholder issues

overheads

regular and essential expenses, such as salaries, rent, and bills

Overheads, such as lighting, equipment, and any little extras, are paid for out of a centralized fund

running costs

the amount of money needed to operate an organization, system, machine etc

Assume also that running costs are financed with credit until receipts are received.

cashflow

the movement of money coming into a business as income and going out as wages, materials etc

We expect a rise in both our production and our cashflow.

break even

to neither make a profit nor lose money

We're hoping that we'll at least break even, and perhaps make a small profit.

profit forecast

a statement or set of figures which aims to predict how much money a company will make over a particular period of time

The company cut its profit forecast for the current financial year by £25m.

budget

a detailed plan made by an organization or a government of how much it will receive as income over a particular period of time, and how much it will spend, what it will spend the money on etc

Each year business managers draw up a budget and suggest a series of financial targets.

sole trader

a legal form of company in some countries for someone who has their own business, with no other shareholders

The bank has over one million business accounts, from sole traders to the largest corporations.

proprietor

an owner of a business

My father had fallen victim to an unscrupulous garage proprietor.

partnership

the state of being a partner in business

I've been in partnership with her for five years.

limited liability company

a company where the shareholders will lose only what they have invested if the company goes bankrupt, and will not lose other property that they own

The TWB was incorporated and registered as a limited liability company in 2007.

franchise

an arrangement in which a company gives a business the right to sell its goods or services in return for a fee or a share of the profits

We operate all of our stores under a franchise.

franchisee

someone who is given or sold a franchise to sell a company's goods or services

The franchisors consistently over-estimated the level of sales that franchisees might expect.

holding company

a company that completely or partly owns other companies and may also carry out normal business activitiesitself

The shares of First Federal owned by its mutual holding company were canceled.

subsidiary

a company that is owned or controlled by another larger company

Under our law, a subsidiary can go bankrupt and normally the parent company will not be liable for its debts.

wholly-owned

a company that is completely owned by another company

A parent company in the UK will be legally responsible for the debts of its wholly-owned subsidiaries.

sister company

one of two or more companies that are owned by the same

We also have at our disposal component repair facilities operated by our sister company.

associated company

a company of which more than 20% but less than 51% of the equity is held by another company or group of companies

Employees of the National Magazine Company and their associated companies may not enter this competition.

group

a large business organization that consists of several companies that all have the same owner

He is the group chairman.

strategy

a plan or series of plans for achieving an aim, especially success in business or the best way for an organization to develop in the future

We need to develop a strategy for marketing the company's products in each locality.

grow

to increase in amount, size, or degree

Seaman grew rapidly, becoming one of the largest advertisers in the New York area.

expansion

when an industry or company becomes bigger or more successful

More expansion into Europe is likely, but the company will not be hurried.

acquisition

when one company buys another one, or part of another one

The group's latest acquisition is a sportswear firm.

takeover

the act of getting control of a company by buying over 50% of its shares

There was a takeover bid by a larger and more aggressive company.

bid

a price offered to buy something such as goods, property, shares, or bonds

Its shares were quoted yesterday at a bid price of 31 cents a share.

joint venture

a business activity begun by two or more people or companies working together

Some analysts also said that a joint venture with Canon is possible.

consortium

a group of companies or organizations who are working together to do something

The aircraft will be built by a European consortium.

join forces

to work together so that you can deal with a problem, be more powerful etc

Local schools have joined forces with each other to share facilities.

merge

if two or more companies, organizations etc merge, or if they are merged, they join together

The companies will merge their cellular phone operations, forming one of the nation's largest regional systems.

global reach

the ability of a company or an industry to have customers I many different parts of the world

The company does not yet have global reach of its bigger competitors.

local partner

a company's local partners is a company based in foreign country whis whom they form a partnership in order to help them to start doing business in that country

On-line banking services were already popular in the USA and Microsoft would seek local partners to develop the service in Australia.