IGCSE Business Glossary - A&B

The proportion of working days lost due to employee absence (through illness or accidents) - usually expressed as a percentage

When employees, especially managers, are held responsible for their actions

• Accountability

• Actionability

• Assessment

• Autocracy

The amount added to the value of a product through the production process. This is calculated by subtracting the original costs from the selling price. These costs could include wages.

• Added cost

• Added value

• Added product

• Added price

Items that a business owns; those used up within a year are current assets, those kept longer than a year are non-current assets.

A style of leadership where the manager makes all decisions. Subordinates are given little say in what is done and how it is done. The leader gives instructions and expects them to be followed

• Aligned leadership

• Autonomous leadership

• Autocratic leadership

• Democratic leadership

The average cost of producing one item - the total cost of production divided by the number of items produced

The difference in value between imports to a country an exports from that country - a positive balance of payments means the country exported more than it imported; a negative balance of payments means the country imported more than it exported

• Balance of payments

• Balance of exports

• Balance of imports

• Balance of accounts

The legal process by which a company (or in the case of unlimited firms, an individual) is declared financially unable to continue with the business

The interest rate set by a country's central bank, used as the basis for the interest rates of all other banks

• Interest rate

• Nominal rate

• Base rate

• Bank rate

A production method where similar items are produced together - a whole batch moves through the different stages of production together