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Principles of Management

Key Terms

Principles of ManagementKey Terms

Key Terms

BCG matrix
a tool used to evaluate the various business units in a corporation.
benchmarking
a performance evaluation technique where the standard for a firm’s performance is based on another firm’s superior performance.
business-level strategy
ways that single-product firms organize their activities to succeed against rivals; at this level, include cost leadership and differentiation.
corporate strategy
the broadest level of strategy, concerned with decisions about growing, maintaining, or shrinking very large companies.
defensive strategy
a grand strategy pursued by companies facing challenges.
goal
something that a firm is trying to accomplish; can also be called an objective.
growth strategy
a grand strategy to increase the size of the firm in terms of revenue, market share, geographic reach, or a combination of these elements.
implementation
the execution of a strategy by planning and assigning actions to employees to carry out in order to accomplish the company’s strategic objectives.
international strategy
the level of strategy concerned with the large-scale actions involved in entering a brand-new geographic market.
long-term strategic plan
company actions to achieve an objective that will take a year or longer to accomplish.
mission statement
a general description of how the firm will try to accomplish the firm’s vision.
operational planning
first-line strategic planning consisting of specific daily and short-term actions that employees will perform to make the company function.
performance measurement
the evaluation of firm activities to determine the success of that activity in helping the firm reach its strategic objectives.
plan
a decision to carry out a particular action in order to achieve a specific goal, including decisions about when and how the action should be accomplished and what resources will be required to carry out the action.
short-term strategic plan
company actions to achieve an objective in a time frame of a year or less.
SMART framework
an acronym for the characteristics of good goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
stability strategy
a grand strategy for a company that wants maintain its current income, market share, or geographic reach.
strategic analysis
the systematic examination of a firm’s internal and external situation that informs managerial decision-making.
strategic management process
the set of activities that firm managers undertake in order to try to put their firms in the best possible position to compete successfully in the marketplace.
strategic objectives
the big-picture goals for the company: what the company will do to try to fulfill its mission.
strategic planning
connects the company’s actions back to its vision and mission statements.
tactical planning
mid-level strategic planning consisting of broad ideas of what a company should do to pursue its mission.
vision statement
a broad expression of what a business’s founders want that business to accomplish.
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