Management

Administer
Administer refers to the management actions of planning, directing, budgeting, and implementing necessary to achieve organizational objectives. It involves activities such as managing resources, overseeing projects, and ensuring efficient operations.
Authority
Authority delegitimizes effective functioning within organizations and public bodies, easing decision-making and enforcement of rules and regulations.
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a four-year degree program that equips students with comprehensive knowledge of business principles, ethics, and practices. The program encompasses a variety of business-related disciplines and offers specializations in areas such as accounting, finance, marketing, management, business statistics, and real estate.
Background Processing
Background processing involves investigation by management of an employee's job history and personal references, ensuring that qualified personnel are placed in an organization. This process is also known as a background check.
Branch Office
A branch office is a place of operation for a firm that is located apart from the main office. It is owned by the firm owner but is managed by another person.
By the Book
The term 'By the Book' refers to acting in a very rigid manner, according to pre-established written guidelines and regulations. It often represents a criticism implying a lack of flexibility and responsiveness within an organization.
Centralized Management
Centralized management occurs when day-to-day business operations are handled by appointed officers rather than the shareholders, a characteristic that indicates that an organization may be taxed as a corporation.
Chain of Command
A system outlining the hierarchy of authority and decision-making in organizations, where instructions flow downward and accountability flows upward.
Chain Store
A chain store is an individual retail store that is a part of a group of similar retail stores managed and owned by the same entity, providing consistent products, services, and branding across multiple locations.
Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) is a professional designation awarded by The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, recognizing individuals for their expertise and proficiency in financial planning.
Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU)
The Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) is a professional designation that signifies expertise in various areas including insurance, risk management, economics, finance, management, accounting, and law. To earn this prestigious designation, candidates must complete 10 national examinations and have at least three years of work experience in the insurance industry or a related field.
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
A Chief Operating Officer (COO) is an executive role responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operational functions of an organization. This role is crucial for ensuring efficient operations and achieving strategic goals.
Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills refer to the ability to understand the interrelationship of ideas or elements in relation to the totality. These skills are crucial for strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making in various fields such as management, business, and education.
Concern
In management and business contexts, 'concern' refers to matters requiring attention, issues in labor relations, or business organizations.
Controllable Costs
Controllable costs are expenses that can be directly influenced and managed by a particular level of management. Responsibility is assigned to specific personnel who can influence these costs within an organization.
Corporate Governance
Corporate governance refers to the system by which companies are directed and controlled, focusing on the structure and relationships that determine corporate performance and accountability.
Decentralization
The delegation of decision-making responsibilities to the subunits of an organization. The advantages claimed for decentralization are that local managers are more aware of immediate problems, are better motivated, and have greater control over local circumstances. The disadvantages are the possibility of wasteful competition between subunits, duplication of services, and the loss of central control and access to information.
Decision Support System (DSS)
A computer-based program that aids managers in making decisions, particularly in situations where problem structures are not well-defined.
Deferred Wage Increase
A deferred wage increase involves delaying the implementation of a wage increase until a later date. In collective bargaining, it serves as a concessionary labor tactic for winning a wage increase from management.
Delegate
A delegate can refer to both the act of transferring authority to another person or the individual who is authorized to act on behalf of others. Delegation is crucial in various fields such as management, governance, and project management to ensure efficient functioning and responsibility sharing.
Downstream
The term 'downstream' refers to the flow of corporate activity from a parent company to its subsidiary. In finance, it typically pertains to loans, while in management, it relates to instructions that come from the headquarters.
Executive Committee
An executive committee is a senior-level management committee empowered to make and implement major organizational decisions, oversee organizational activities, request justifications for certain matters, and plan activities.
Expert Power
Understanding Expert Power and its role in influencing decisions and actions due to specific knowledge, experience, or expertise.
First-Line Management
Supervisors on an organizational level immediately above non-managerial workers. First-line managers primarily oversee performance on line tasks. Some typical titles associated with supervisory positions are foreman, shift boss, sergeant, section head, and ward nurse.
Free Riders
Free riders are individuals within a team or organization who benefit from collective efforts without contributing adequately due to the absence of individual responsibility requirements.
Front Office
The front office refers to the offices of the major executives within a company; it is the nucleus of the operational management center, often located near the entrance of the organization.
Geographic Division
A divisional unit within an organization structured on the basis of its operational location, allowing for localized decision-making and management.
Group Norms
Behavior norms applied to group members. Group norms are essential in determining group behaviors and conformity to organizational goals.
Halsey Premium Plan
An innovative wage incentive system created by Frederick A. Halsey, designed to enhance worker productivity and address the shortcomings of the piece-rate system.
Heterogeneous
Consisting of dissimilar or diverse parts, the term 'heterogeneous' frequently describes organizations involved in selling a wide array of different products.
Hostile Takeover
A hostile takeover is an acquisition attempt by another company or raider against the wishes of the current management and board of directors.
Incubator
A facility that provides small entrepreneurial businesses with affordable space, shared support, and business development services such as financing, marketing, and management. Incubators play an important role in helping young businesses survive and grow during the startup period, when they are most financially vulnerable.
Individualism
Individualism is a philosophy or quality characterized by the tendency of a manager or employee to make decisions and perform tasks in their own way or style. Encouraging individualism can lead to enhanced creativity and motivation but also requires a balance to ensure corporate goals and policies are upheld.
Inferred Authority
Inferred Authority is a type of authority assumed by an individual when a higher authority leaves their post, often exercised due to inferred abilities or circumstances requiring immediate leadership.
Initiative
Initiative refers to the action of creating or starting new projects or ideas. A manager with initiative has the aptitude to introduce new concepts or techniques, often taking action independently without waiting for instructions. Individuals displaying initiative are self-starters and self-motivated. In the business world, initiative is closely linked to entrepreneurial activities.
Inside Director
An inside director is an employee of a company who sits on the board of directors and participates in the governance and management decisions of the organization.
Investment Centre
An investment centre is a unit or division within an organization where capital expenditures are made under the specific oversight of management responsible for that centre. This focus allows for detailed accountability and efficient resource management.
Job Depth
Job depth, also known as job enrichment, refers to the ability and power an employee has to influence their work environment. It pertains to the amount of discretion an employee has in a job, often varying by the level of specialization and seniority.
Job Enrichment
Job enrichment involves motivating employees through expanding job responsibilities and giving increased control over the total production process. This empowerment often includes training, support, and enhanced input into procedures.
Junior Partner
A junior partner is a partner in a firm who is limited as to both profits and management participation.
Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leadership is a management style in which leaders delegate the decision-making responsibilities to their subordinates. This approach fosters employee empowerment but can be considered the weakest form of management style in terms of structure.
Leadership
Leadership refers to the upper level of management that provides vision, guidance, and direction for a company.
Line and Staff Organization
Line and staff organization delineates the organizational authority between management personnel (staff) with planning and direction responsibilities and operational personnel (line) with direct job performance responsibilities. The staff functions in an advisory capacity to the line function.
Line Authority
Line authority refers to the power granted to supervisors or managers over their subordinates within an organization. This authority enables direct control over important operations and decision-making processes.
Line Organization
An organizational structure where direct line functions contribute to the organization's output. This setup ensures clear lines of authority, accountability, and streamlined decision-making, focusing on direct communication from top management to entry-level employees.
Manage
Managing involves administering an organization's activities to achieve particular objectives. It includes planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources.
Management
Management involves the combined fields of policy and administration, as well as the people who provide the decisions and supervision necessary to implement the owners' business objectives and achieve stability and growth.
Management by Objective (MBO)
Management by Objectives (MBO) is a strategic management approach wherein performance goals are jointly determined by both management and employees, fostering alignment and mutual agreement on objectives and performance standards.
Management Ratio
The Management Ratio refers to the ratio of management personnel to 1,000 employees, further broken down into the ratio of top management and middle management personnel per 1,000 employees. It's a critical measurement for evaluating organizational structure and management efficiency.
Morale
Morale is the collective feeling or attitude in a workgroup that significantly impacts motivation and goal achievement. A high morale typically results in increased productivity and a positive work environment.
Officers of a Company
The term 'Officers of a Company' typically refers to the individuals who hold significant managerial or administrative positions within an organization, including Directors and the Company Secretary. These officers play crucial roles in the governance and operational oversight of the company.
Operational Control
Operational control refers to the power of management over the daily activities of a business, guiding its day-to-day operations, resources, and performance.
Organizational Structure
Organizational structure is the systematic way responsibility and authority are apportioned among the members of an organization. This concept is crucial for ensuring effective coordination and achieving organizational goals efficiently. Common types of organizational structure include functional organization, matrix organization, and line organization.
Participative Budgeting
Participative budgeting is a budgeting process where various levels of management are involved in setting the budget. This method aims to boost ownership and accountability, ensuring that performance benchmarks reflect the input of those who are responsible for meeting them.
Pecking Order
Pecking Order refers to a hierarchy or rank order within an organization, originally derived from the behavior of chickens where dominance is established through a series of physical interactions.
Plan
An organized sequence of predetermined actions that management has chosen to complete future organizational objectives.
Policy
A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. It is a statement of intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organization.
Policy Cost
Policy cost refers to the expenditure incurred as a consequence of a policy determined by the management of an organization, such as insurance premiums based on policies like key-man insurance.
Program Budgeting
Program budgeting is a method of budgeting expenditures to meet programmatic objectives rather than using a line-item basis. It focuses on specific performance objectives and systematically formulates costs for all related functions, providing a clear link between expenditures and outcomes.
Proxy Fight
A technique used by an acquiring company to attempt to gain control of a takeover target by persuading shareholders to oust the current management in favor of directors favorable to the acquirer.
Quality Circles
Quality Circles are small groups of employees who meet regularly within an organization to discuss and develop solutions for management issues and procedures. They are established with management approval and play a crucial role in implementing new procedures and improvements.
Resource
Resources include money, people, time, and equipment necessary for any organization. Resource allocation is a key part of a manager's decisional roles.
Rock the Boat
The phrase 'rock the boat' refers to actions or behaviors that upset the status quo or challenge the customary sequence of procedures or events.
Splintered Authority
Splintered authority refers to the division of authority among many managers, resulting in a manager having to deal with several other managers before decisions can be finalized.
Staff Authority
Staff Authority refers to the power to advise but not direct other managers, mainly found in administrative and support functions within an organization.
Stockholders' Derivative Action
A Stockholders' Derivative Action is a lawsuit filed by shareholders on behalf of a corporation. Such a suit aims to address grievances suffered primarily by the corporation, typically due to breaches of fiduciary duty by those managing the corporation. It's often the only civil remedy available to a stockholder for such breaches.
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning involves the management act of determining a firm's future environment and response to organizational challenges. It is crucial in making decisions that determine the direction of a firm.
Strategy
A strategy in a business context refers to a comprehensive plan designed to achieve long-term goals and objectives. It involves the allocation of resources and the implementation of actions to gain a competitive advantage.
Suggestion Box
A method of eliciting worker suggestions for management by having a box or receptacle where employees can place anonymous or signed comments; a method of obtaining employee feedback.
Tall Organization
A traditional hierarchical organization structure characterized by many levels of supervision and a narrow span of control.
Team Management
Team management refers to the process of managing a prescribed set of activities by an organized work group in an organization. This involves setting goals and priorities, analyzing group work methods, and examining decision-making processes.
Theory Y
Theory Y posits that, under the right conditions, the average employee finds work to be a source of satisfaction, will exercise self-direction towards goals they are committed to, seeks responsibility, and is inherently creative. This theory contrasts with Theory X's more negative view of employee motivation and behavior.
Vertical Organization
A hierarchically structured organization where all management activities are controlled by a centralized management staff, often leading to strong bureaucratic control.
Vertical Promotion
Vertical promotion refers to the advancement or upgrading of management or supervisory responsibilities within an organization, often accompanied by an increase in compensation. For example, an individual receiving a promotion from a department manager to a vice president not only gains greater responsibilities but also receives higher remuneration.

Accounting Terms Lexicon

Discover comprehensive accounting definitions and practical insights. Empowering students and professionals with clear and concise explanations for a better understanding of financial terms.