Accounting that is designed with the objective of providing cost, revenue and profit data in a way that best serves the planning and control needs of management, while not necessary meeting regulatory requirments. Where the two differ, statutory reporting requirements must still be met in addition to any management reporting the the firm does on its own accord..
Contributed by: ManagerWise Staff
management by objectives
A management process whereby managers regularly and systematically set goals for themselves and their employees, measure progress towards those goals, take corrective action where necessary and (typically) reward successful achievement of those goals.
Contributed by: ManagerWise Staff
management by walking around
A management technique that involves, as the name applies, walking around in the front-lines of a business to gather information about its and talk to front-line employees to get their insight into the business, rather than depending solely on the business hierarchy to filter information up and down the formal chain of command.
Contributed by: ManagerWise Staff
marginal cost
The additional cost required to produce one more unit of a product. The marginal cost excludes fixed costs unless the capacity of plant and/or equipment has been reached, thereby requiring the purchase of addtional assets in order to produce that extra unit.
The amount that total revenue will increase as a result of the production of one additional unit of the company's product. Marginal revenue will usually not be the same at all levels of production because, for example, if the company produces only small quantities it can demand higher prices and still sellout its stock because some people will be value and be willing to pay more for the product than other people.
Contributed by: Managerwise Staff
market risk
The risk that a change in general market conditions — such as an economic downturn, the entry of a strong new competitor or the invention by another company of a superior competing product category — will negatively impact the company. Market risks are those that are shared by all existing competitors in a market, as opposed to risks that are specific to any one company.
The percentage of total sales within a market that are attributed to one company's sales or one brand sold by the company. Market share can be a somewhat flexible number since it depends on how broadly one defines the market. For example, car company "A" may have one percent of the total automotive market, but ten percent of a particular market niche, such as the luxury cars. In turn, that is subjective measure since it depends on how you define a "luxury" car.
Contributed by: ManagerWise Staff
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970) theorized that there are a hierarchy of five levels of human needs and we humans will not crave attainment of one of the higher-order needs until we've secured the lower-order needs. His postulated hierarchy, from lowest to highest order needs is:
Survival -> food, water, shelter and warmth
Safety -> security of person and a reasonable level of freedom from external threats
Belonging -> love and companionship
Self-esteem -> personal achievement, recognition of your peers, master of skills and knowledge
Self-actualization -> development of creative talents, fulfillment of creative goals and achievements
In the fields of organizational behavior and human resources, Maslow's hierarchy is used to try to understand what will motivate employees. According to the theory, that motivation will vary depending on where the employee fits in the hierarchy. For example, employees who are just making ends meet are thought to be motivated best by money - wages, salaries, bonuses and the promise of increased financial rewards for a job that is consistently done well. On the other hand, again according to the theory, the motivational force of increased financial rewards will decrease (although probably never disappear totally) for employees who have already achieved a high level of income and savings. For them, achieving a sense of personal fulfillment in the job will assume greater importance.
A graduate level university degree focusing on the management and administration of business. Abbreviated as MBA.
Contributed by: ManagerWise Staff
material requirements planning
A technique for managing production inventories. To over-simplify, It works backwards from the dates that end products are required do determine what components are needed, when they are needed and how many of each are needed to meet the production schedule. Commonly abbreviated as MRP.
Contributed by: ManagerWise Staff
maternity leave
Paid or unpaid time off that is granted to a new mother after the birth or adoption of a child. The term "maternity leave" does not denote whether the time off will be paid (full or, more likely, partial salary) or unpaid, nor is there any universal standard as to how much time off is granted, but inherent in the definition of "maternity leave" is the understanding that the person's job or an equivalent job will be guaranteed to be available for the employee at the end of the leave period.
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