Law, Jonathan. Business: The Ultimate Resource 3rd ed. (A & C Black, 2011).
Existing Citations
accountability (s.v. accountability): The allocation or acceptance of responsibility for actions (†1144)
accuracy (s.v. accuracy): The degree to which data conforms to a recognized standard value (†1143)
audit (s.v. audit): a systematic examination of the activities and status of an entity, based primarily on investigation and analysis of its systems, controls, and records (†1142)
authentication (s.v. authentication): A software security verification procedure to acknowledge or validate the source, uniqueness, and integrity of an e-commerce message to make sure data is not being tampered with. The verification is typically achieved through the use of an electronic signature in the form of a key or algorithm that is shared by the trading partners. (†1141)
best practice (s.v. best practice): The most effective and efficient method of achieving any objective or task. What constitutes best practice can be determined through a process of benchmarking. An organization can move toward achieving best practice, either across the whole organization or in a specific area, through continuous improvement. In production-based organizations, world class manufacturing is a related concept. More generally, a market or sector leader may be described as best-in-class. (†1140)
blind trust (s.v. blind trust): A trust that manages somebody's business interests, with contents that are unknown to the beneficiary. People assuming public office use such trusts to avoid conflicts of interest. (†1139)
competence (s.v. core competence): A key ability or strength that an organization has acquired that differentiates it from others, gives it competitive advantage, and contributes to its long-term success. The concept of core competence is most closely associated with the work of Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, notably in their book Competing for the Future (1994). They describe core competences as bundles of skills and technologies resulting from organizational learning. These provide access to markets, contribute to customer value, and are difficult for competitors to imitate. Core competence is a resource-based approach to corporate strategy. The terms core competence and core capability are often used interchangeably, but some writers make varying distinctions between the two concepts.
(†1138)
confidentiality (s.v. confidentiality agreement): An agreement whereby an organization that has access to information about the affairs of another organization makes an undertaking to treat the information as private and confidential. A potential buyer of a company who requires further information in the process of due diligence may be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement stating that the information will only be used for the purpose of deciding whether to go ahead with the deal and will only be disclosed to employees involved in the negotiations. Such agreements are also used where information is shared in the context of a partnership or benchmarking program. (†1137)
data mining (s.v. data mining): 1. The process of using sophisticated software to identify commercially useful statistical patterns or relationships in online databases
2. The extraction of information from a data warehouse to assist managerial decision making. The information obtained in this way helps organizations gain a better understanding of their customers and can be used to improve customer support and marketing activities.
(†1136)
data protection (s.v. data protection): The safeguards that govern the storage and use of personal data held on computer systems and in paper-based filing systems. The growing use of computers to store information about individuals has led to the enactment of legislation in many countries designed to protect the privacy of individuals and prevent the disclosure of information to unauthorized persons. (†1135)
denial of service (s.v. denial of service attack): An attack on a computer system by a hacker or virus that does not seek to break into the system, but rather to crash a Web site by deluging it with phony traffic. Such attacks are difficult to defend against, but firewall s can be designed to block repeated traffic from a particular source. (†1134)
encryption (s.v. encryption): A means of encoding information, especially financial data, so that it can be transmitted over the Internet without being read by unauthorized parties.
Within an Internet security system, a secure server uses encryption when transferring or receiving data from the Web. Credit card information, for example, which could be targeted by a hacker, is encrypted by the server, turning it into special code that will then be decrypted only when it is safely within the server environment. Once the information has been acted on, it is either deleted or stored in encrypted form.
(†1133)
enterprise risk management (s.v. risk management): 1. The variety of activities undertaken by an organization to control and minimize threats to the continuing efficiency, profitability, and success of its operations. The process of risk management includes the identification and analysis of risks to which the organization is exposed, the assessment of potential impacts on the business, and deciding what action can be taken to eliminate or reduce risk and deal with the impact of unpredictable events causing loss or damage. Risk management strategies include taking out insurance against financial loss or legal liability and introducing safety or security measures.
2. The process of understanding and managing the risks that an organization is inevitably subject to in attempting to achieve its corporate objectives. For management purposes, risks are usually divided into categories such as operational, financial, legal compliance, information, and personnel.
(†1132)
governance (s.v. Improving Corporate Profitability Throug): Improved governance requires the right employees, the right culture and values, and the right systems, information, and decision making. Unfortunately, most organizations are attempting to steer their information-age businesses using industrial-age measurements. Managers have struggled for decades with accounting systems that fail to measure many of the variables that drive long-term value. The historical lagging indicators of performance that are commonly used by accountants are of limited value in determining the value of businesses for external stakeholders, and are of little use in guiding the business internally. Financial data on profitability and return on investment are valuable measures of corporate performance, but they are lagging indicators that measure past performance. A broader set of financial measures is necessary (for example, measurement of intangible assets such as intellectual capital and research-and-development value), in addition to an expanded set relating to customers, internal processes, and organizational measures. (†1127)
governance (s.v. corporate governance): The system by which companies are directed and controlled. Boards of directors are responsible for the governance of their companies. The stockholders’ role in governance is to appoint the directors and the auditors and to satisfy themselves that an appropriate governance structure is in place. The responsibilities of the board include setting the company's strategic goals, providing the leadership to put them into effect, supervising the management of the business, and reporting to the stockholders on their stewardship. The board's actions are subject to laws, regulations, and the wishes of the stockholders in the general meeting. (†1131)
ICT (s.v. information and communications technolog): Computer and telecommunications technologies considered collectively. Information and communications technology convergence has given rise to technologies such as the Internet, videoconferencing, groupware, intranets, and third-generation cellphones. Information and communications technologies enable organizations to be more flexible in the way they are structured and in the way they work, and this has given rise to both the virtual organization and the virtual office. Abbr. ICT (†1128)
identity (s.v. corporate identity): The distinctive characteristics or personality of an organization, including corporate culture, values, and philosophy as perceived by those within the organization and presented to those outside. Corporate identity is expressed through the name, symbols, and logos used by the organization, and the design of communication materials, and is a factor influencing the corporate image of an organization. The creation of a strong corporate identity also involves consistency in the organization's actions, behavior, products, and brands, and often reflects the mission statement of an organization. A positive corporate identity can promote a sense of purpose and belonging within the organization and encourage employee commitment and involvement. (†1130)
identity management (s.v. the power of identity): Every organization carries out thousands of transactions every day: it buys, it sells, it hires and fires, it makes, it promotes, it informs through advertising and the Web. In each transaction the organization is in some way presenting itself–or part of itself–to the various groups of people it deals with. The totality of the way the organization presents itself can be called its identity. What different audiences perceive is often called its image.
Because the range of its activities is so vast, and the manifestations of identity are so diverse, the corporation needs to actively and explicitly manage its identity or brand. Identity management, like financial management or information systems management, is a corporate resource embracing every part of the organization. (†1129)
information management (s.v. information management): The acquisition, recording, organizing, storage, dissemination, and retrieval of information. Good information management has been described as getting the right information to the right person in the right format at the right time. (†1112)
liability (s.v. liability): A debt that has no claim on a debtor's assets, or less claim than another debt. (†1125)
metadata (s.v. metadata): Essential information on a document or Web page, such as publication date, author, keywords, title, and summary. This information is used by search engines to find relevant Web sites when a user requests a search.
When designing metadata, there are several rules to keep in mind. Always remember the type of person who will be looking for the content–how would they like the content classified? Only collect metadata that is genuinely useful–someone has to fill in all the metadata, and if you ask for too much, it will slow down the publishing process and make it more expensive. Make sure that all essential information is collected–if copyright information is needed, make certain that copyright is part of the metadata list. Check that people are not abusing metadata–some will put popular keywords in their metadata just to increase the chance of their documents coming up in a search, whether relevant or not. Remember that metadata should be strongly linked with advanced search–the metadata forms the parameters for refining an advanced search. See also meta-tag (†1124)
patent (s.v. patent): A type of copyright granted as a fixed-term monopoly to an inventor by the state to prevent others copying an invention or improvement to a product or process.
The granting of a patent requires the publication of full details of the invention or improvement. The use of the patented information is restricted to the patent holder or any organizations licensed by them.
A patent's value is usually the sum of its development costs, or its purchase price if acquired from someone else. It is generally to a company's advantage to spread the patent's value over several years. If this is the case, the critical time period to consider is not the full life of the patent (17 years in the United States), but its estimated useful life. (†1123)
risk (s.v. risk): The possibility of suffering damage or loss in the face of uncertainty about the outcome of actions, future events, or circumstances. Organizations are exposed to various types of risk, including damage to property, injury to personnel, financial loss, and legal liability. These may affect profitability, hinder the achievement of objectives, or lead to business interruption or failure. Risk may be deemed high or low, depending on the probability of an adverse outcome. Risks that can be quantified on the basis of past experience are insurable and those that cannot be calculated are uninsurable. (†1122)
risk analysis (s.v. risk analysis): The identification of risks to which an organization is exposed and the assessment of the potential impact of those risks on the organization. The goal of risk analysis is to identify and measure the risks associated with different courses of action in order to inform the decision making process. In the context of business decision making, risk analysis is especially used in investment decisions and capital investment appraisal. Techniques used in risk analysis include sensitivity analysis, probability analysis, simulation, and modeling. Risk analysis may be used to develop an organizational risk profile, and also may be the first stage in a risk management program. (†1121)
risk assessment (s.v. risk assessment): The determination of the level of risk in a particular course of action. Risk assessments are an important tool in areas such as health and safety management and environmental management. Results of a risk assessment can be used, for example, to identify areas in which safety can be improved. Risk assessment can also be used to determine more intangible forms of risk, including economic and social risk, and can inform the scenario planning process. The amount of risk involved in a particular course of action is compared to its expected benefits to provide evidence for decision making. (†1120)
risk management (s.v. risk management): 1. The variety of activities undertaken by an organization to control and minimize threats to the continuing efficiency, profitability, and success of its operations. The process of risk management includes the identification and analysis of risks to which the organization is exposed, the assessment of potential impacts on the business, and deciding what action can be taken to eliminate or reduce risk and deal with the impact of unpredictable events causing loss or damage. Risk management strategies include taking out insurance against financial loss or legal liability and introducing safety or security measures.
2. The process of understanding and managing the risks that an organization is inevitably subject to in attempting to achieve its corporate objectives. For management purposes, risks are usually divided into categories such as operational, financial, legal compliance, information, and personnel. (†1119)
security (s.v. internet security): The means used to protect Web sites and other electronic files from attack by hackers and viruses. The Internet is, by definition, a network; networks are open, and are thus open to attack. A poor Internet security policy can result in a substantial loss of productivity and a drop in consumer confidence.
The essential elements of Internet security are constant vigilance–the perfect Internet security system will be out of date the next day; a combination of software and human expertise–security software can only do so much, it must be combined with human experience; and internal as well as external security–many security breaches come from within an organization. (†1118)
service level agreement (s.v. service level agreement): 1. An agreement drawn up between a customer or client and the provider of a service or product. A service level agreement can cover a straightforward provision of a service–for example, office cleaning–or the provision of a complete function such as the outsourcing of the administration of a payroll or the maintenance of plant and equipment for a large company. The agreement lays down the detailed specification for the level and quality of the service to be provided. The agreement is essentially a legally binding contract.
2. A contract between service provider and customer which specifies in detail the level of service to be provided over the contract period (quality, frequency, flexibility, charges, etc) as well as the procedures to implement in the case of default. (†1117)
social capital (s.v. social capital): The asset to an organization produced by the cumulative social skills of its employees. Social capital, like intellectual and emotional capital, is intangible and resides in the employees of the organization. It is a form of capital produced by good interpersonal skills (see interpersonal communication), which can be considered an asset as they are an important factor in organizational success. Key components of social capital include trust; a sense of community and belonging; unrestricted and participative communication; democratic decision making; and a sense of collective responsibility. Evidence of social capital can be seen, for example, in trust relationships, in the establishment of effective personal networks, in efficient teamwork, and in an organization's exercise of social responsibility. (†1116)
transparency (s.v. transparency): The condition in which nothing is hidden. This is an essential condition for a free market in securities. Prices, the volume of trading, and factual information must be available to all. (†1115)
usability (s.v. usability (e-commerce)): The suitability of a Web site design from the user's perspective. The term has been popularized by Web design guru Jakob Nielsen who has stressed that a Web site must be simple to use. One of the main points of usability relates to download times. For Nielsen, “fast response times are the most important criterion for Web pages.” Nielsen also believes usability involves a human approach. He states that “what constitutes a good site relates to the core basis of human nature and not to technology.” (†1114)
web 2.0 (s.v. web 2.0): A phrase used to describe what some commentators view as a new generation of Internet services and communities. Web 2.0 does not refer to any technological changes, but rather to a perceived shift in what the Internet can be used for, with champions of the term arguing that it stands for more collaborative working and information-sharing. (†1113)
