Glossary
Effortlessly navigate the QCAA Business Glossary to find and understand key terms and concepts
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A
ATAR
Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
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Accomplished
Highly trained or skilled in a particular activity; perfected in knowledge or training; expert
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Accuracy
The condition or quality of being true, correct or exact; freedom from error or defect; precision or exactness; correctness
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Accurate
Precise and exact; to the point; consistent with or exactly conforming to a truth, standard, rule, model, convention or known facts; free from error or defect; meticulous; correct in all details
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Acquisition
The process of attaining an asset; the purchase of one business by another
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Action plan
A written document outlining the proposed strategy or course of action to be used by a business to achieve objectives and goals
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Adequate
Satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity equal to the requirement or occasion
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Analyse
Dissect to ascertain and examine constituent parts and/or their relationships; break down or examine in order to identify the essential elements, features, components or structure; determine the logic and reasonableness of information; examine or consider something in order to explain and interpret it, for the purpose of finding meaning or relationships and identifying patterns, similarities and differences
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Analytical tools
Specific tools and techniques with defined methods or processes used to identify and understand patterns, trends and relationships within a business, including: SWOT, PEST, PESTLE, STEEPLE, Porter's five forces, unique selling proposition (USP analysis), force field analysis and power interest grid
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Applied learning
The acquisition and application of knowledge, understanding and skills in real-world or lifelike contexts that may encompass workplace, industry and community situations; it emphasises learning through doing and includes both theory and the application of theory, connecting subject knowledge and understanding with the development of practical skills
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Applied subject
A subject for which a syllabus has been developed by the QCAA with the following characteristics: results from courses developed from Applied syllabuses contribute to the QCE; results may contribute to ATAR calculations
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Apply
Use knowledge and understanding in response to a given situation or circumstance; carry out or use a procedure in a given or particular situation
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Appraise
Evaluate the worth, significance or status of something; judge or consider a text or piece of work
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Appreciate
Recognise or make a judgment about the value or worth of something; understand fully; grasp the full implications of
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Appropriate
Acceptable; suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, circumstance, context, etc.
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Apt
Suitable to the purpose or occasion; fitting, appropriate
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Area of study
A division of, or a section within a unit
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Argue
Give reasons for or against something; challenge or debate an issue or idea; persuade, prove or try to prove by giving reasons
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Aspect
A particular part of a feature of something; a facet, phase or part of a whole
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Assess
Measure, determine, evaluate, estimate or make a judgment about the value, quality, outcomes, results, size, significance, nature or extent of something
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Assessment
A tool or device used to gather information about student achievement
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Assessment instrument
A tool or device used to gather information about student achievement
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Assessment objectives
Drawn from the unit objectives and contextualised for the requirements of the assessment instrument (see also 'syllabus objectives', 'unit objectives')
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Assessment technique
The method used to gather evidence about student achievement
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Astute
Showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people; of keen discernment
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Authentic
(Of case study) a genuine business including accurate or reliable business facts, data and information
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Authoritative
Able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable; commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and obeyed
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B
Balanced
Keeping or showing a balance; not biased; fairly judged or presented; taking everything into account in a fair, well-judged way
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Basic
Fundamental
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Break-even analysis
A tool to analyse the break-even point of a business where total revenue equals total expenses or costs; identifies key drivers relating to profit including sales volume, production costs and sales price
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Business Data
Raw or unorganised information (such as alphabets, numbers, or symbols) that refer to, or represent, ideas and responses
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Business Environment
All internal and external factors affecting how a business organises and manages functions and operations
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Business Information
Information presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance to business behaviour, decisions, or outcomes
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Business Life Cycle
Refers to the various stages of development of a small business; each stage has its own unique characteristics and the focus of business activities will reflect the current point within the life cycle
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Business Practices
A method, procedure, process, or rule employed or followed by a business in the pursuit of its objectives; business practice may also refer to these collectively
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Business Processes
A set of activities and tasks enabling the accomplishment of business goals
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Business Report
A formal business document containing information organised in a narrative, graphic and/or tabular form
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Business Situation
The description of internal and external forces that may influence business performance and choice of strategies
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Business Strategies
Plans for achieving business goals and/or objectives
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Business concept
An idea or new approach to a good or service intended for a business with the potential to exploit new or untapped business opportunities
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C
Calculate
Determine or find (e.g. a number, answer) by using mathematical processes; obtain a numerical answer showing the relevant stages in the working; ascertain/determine from given facts, figures or information
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Case Study
A detailed description of a particular situation relating to a person, group, or business used or analysed in order to illustrate concepts, processes, strategies or practices
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Categorise
Place in or assign to a particular class or group; arrange or order by classes or categories; classify, sort out, sort, separate
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Challenging
Difficult but interesting; testing one
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Characteristic
A typical feature or quality
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Citing
Reference to a passage, book, or author as evidence for or justification on an argument or statement
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Clarify
Make clear or intelligible; explain; make a statement or situation less confused and more comprehensible
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Clarity
Clearness of thought or expression; the quality of being coherent and intelligible; free from obscurity of sense; without ambiguity; explicit; easy to perceive, understand or interpret
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Classify
Arrange, distribute or order in classes or categories according to shared qualities or characteristics
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Clear
Free from confusion, uncertainty, or doubt; easily seen, heard or understood
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Coherent
Having a natural or due agreement of parts; connected; consistent; logical, orderly; well-structured and makes sense; rational, with parts that are harmonious; having an internally consistent relation of parts
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Cohesive
Characterised by being united, bound together or having integrated meaning; forming a united whole
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Collect
Systematically seek and acquire
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Comment
Express an opinion, observation or reaction in speech or writing; give a judgment based on a given statement or result of a calculation
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Communicate
Convey knowledge and/or understandings to others; make known; transmit
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Compare
Display recognition of similarities and differences and recognise the significance of these similarities and differences
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Competent
Having suitable or sufficient skills, knowledge, experience, etc. for some purpose; adequate but not exceptional; capable; suitable or sufficient for the purpose; having the necessary ability, knowledge or skill to do something successfully; efficient and capable (of a person); acceptable and satisfactory, though not outstanding
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Competitiveness
The ability of the business to offer products or services that meet or exceed market standards in relation to other businesses
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Complex
Composed or consisting of many different and interconnected parts or factors; compound; composite; characterised by an involved combination of parts; complicated; intricate; a complex whole or system; a complicated assembly of particulars
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Comprehend
Understand the meaning or nature of; grasp mentally
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Comprehensive
Inclusive; of large content or scope; including or dealing with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something; wide-ranging; detailed and thorough, including all that is relevant
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Concept
A principle or idea relating to business theories, management strategies and the key business functions
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Concise
Expressing much in few words; giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; brief, comprehensive and to the point; succinct, clear, without repetition of information
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Conduct
Direct in action or course; manage; organise; carry out
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Consider
Think deliberately or carefully about something, typically before making a decision; take something into account when making a judgment; view attentively or scrutinise; reflect on
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Considerable
Fairly large or great; thought about deliberately, with a purpose
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Considered
Formed after careful and deliberate thought
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Consistent
Agreeing or accordant; compatible; not self-opposed or self-contradictory, constantly adhering to the same principles; acting in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate; unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time; not containing any logical contradictions (of an argument); constant in achievement or effect over a period of time
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Construct
Create or put together (e.g. an argument) by arranging ideas or items; display information in a diagrammatic or logical form; make; build
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Contingency Planning
A prepared course of action designed to help a business respond effectively to a future event or circumstance that may or may not happen
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Contrast
Display recognition of differences by deliberate juxtaposition of contrary elements; show how things are different or opposite; give an account of the differences between two or more items or situations, referring to both or all of them throughout
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Controlled
Shows the exercise of restraint or direction over; held in check; restrained, managed or kept within certain bounds
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Convincing
Persuaded by argument or proof; leaving no margin of doubt; clear; capable of causing someone to believe that something is true or real; persuading or assuring by argument or evidence; appearing worthy of belief; credible or plausible
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Corporate Social Responsibility
The responsibility of a business to consider factors beyond its legal and stakeholder obligations, including environmental impact and ethical, trading and investment practices
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Cost-Benefit Analysis
An approach used to determine the financial viability of a project or strategy by comparing the predicted benefits (returns or income) with the anticipated costs associated with the project or strategy
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Course
A defined amount of learning developed from a subject syllabus
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Create
Bring something into being or existence; produce or evolve from one's own thought or imagination; reorganise or put elements together into a new pattern or structure or to form a coherent or functional whole
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Creative
Resulting from originality of thought or expression; relating to or involving the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something; having good imagination or original ideas
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Credible
Capable or worthy of being believed; believable; convincing
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Crisis Management
The application of strategies to help a business deal with a sudden emergency situation
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Criterion
The property or characteristic by which something is judged or appraised
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Critical
Involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.; involving the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment; expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art; incorporating a detailed and scholarly analysis and commentary (of a text); rationally appraising for logical consistency and merit
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Critique
Review (e.g. a theory, practice, performance) in a detailed, analytical and critical way
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Cursory
Hasty, and therefore not thorough or detailed; performed with little attention to detail; going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial
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Customer Power Interest
A power interest grid used to categorise customers based on influence/power and interest in the services and products of the business; customers are categorised into quadrants, including meet their needs, key player, keep informed and low priority
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D
Data
In business, quantitative details and statistics collected from primary or secondary sources
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Decide
Reach a resolution as a result of consideration; make a choice from a number of alternatives
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Decision-making Matrix
A table used for evaluating possible alternatives to systematically evaluate, rate and decide a course of action
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Deduce
Reach a conclusion that is necessarily true, provided a given set of assumptions is true; arrive at, reach or draw a logical conclusion from reasoning and the information given
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Defensible
Justifiable by argument; capable of being defended in argument
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Define
Give the meaning of a word, phrase, concept or physical quantity; state meaning and identify or describe qualities
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Demonstrate
Prove or make clear by argument, reasoning or evidence, illustrating with practical example; show by example; give a practical exhibition
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Derive
Arrive at by reasoning; manipulate a mathematical relationship to give a new equation or relationship
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Describe
Give an account (written or spoken) of a situation, event, pattern or process, or of the characteristics or features of something
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Design
Produce a plan, simulation, model or similar; plan, form or conceive in the mind
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Detailed
Executed with great attention to the fine points; meticulous; including many of the parts or facts
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Determine
Establish, conclude or ascertain after consideration, observation, investigation or calculation; decide or come to a resolution
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Develop
Elaborate, expand or enlarge in detail; add detail and fullness to; cause to become more complex or intricate
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Devise
Think out; plan; contrive; invent
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Differentiate
Identify the difference/s in or between two or more things; distinguish, discriminate; recognise or ascertain what makes something distinct from similar things
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Digital Business
The creation of new business designs by blurring the digital and physical worlds with the convergence of people, business and things to disrupt existing business models
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Discerning
Discriminating; showing intellectual perception; showing good judgment; making thoughtful and astute choices; selected for value or relevance
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Discriminate
Note, observe or recognise a difference; make or constitute a distinction in or between; differentiate; note or distinguish as different
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Discriminating
Differentiating; distinctive; perceiving differences or distinctions with nicety; possessing discrimination; perceptive and judicious; making judgments about quality; having or showing refined taste or good judgment
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Discuss
Examine by argument; sift the considerations for and against; debate; talk or write about a topic, including a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses; consider, taking into account different issues and ideas, points for and/or against, and supporting opinions or conclusions with evidence
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Disjointed
Disconnected; incoherent; lacking a coherent order/sequence or connection
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Distinguish
Recognise as distinct or different; note points of difference between; discriminate; discern; make clear a difference/s between two or more concepts or items
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Diverse
Of various kinds or forms; different from each other
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Diversification
The process of a business enlarging or varying its range of products or field of operation; the action of making or becoming more varied
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Document
Support (e.g. an assertion, claim, statement) with evidence (e.g. decisive information, written references, citations)
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Draw Conclusions
Make a judgment based on reasoning and evidence
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E
Effective
Successful in producing the intended, desired or expected result; meeting the assigned purpose
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Effectiveness
The degree to which the business goals and/or objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved; "doing the right thing
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Efficiency
The ability of the business to optimise the use of resources and application of processes in achieving goals and/or objectives; "doing the thing right
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Efficient
Working in a well-organised and competent way; maximum productivity with minimal expenditure of effort; acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense or unnecessary effort
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Element
A component or constituent part of a complex whole; a fundamental, essential or irreducible part of a composite entity
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Elementary
Simple or uncompounded; relating to or dealing with elements, rudiments or first principles (of a subject); of the most basic kind; straightforward and uncomplicated
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Emerging technologies
A new technology with the potential to substantially alter the business and social environment
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Employer of choice
A recruitment and retention strategy to offer attractive incentives meaning people will choose to work for, dedicate themselves to and be loyal towards a business, despite offers from alternative employers
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Entrepreneur
A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit
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Erroneous
Based on or containing error; mistaken; incorrect
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Essential
Absolutely necessary; indispensable; of critical importance for achieving something
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Ethical standards
Principles occurring in a business intended to generate trust, good behaviour, fairness and kindness
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Evaluate
Make an appraisal by weighing up or assessing strengths, implications and limitations; make judgments about ideas, works, solutions or methods in relation to selected criteria; examine and determine the merit, value or significance of something, based on criteria
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Examination
A supervised test that assesses the application of a range of cognitions to multiple provided items such as questions, scenarios and/or problems; student responses are completed individually, under supervised conditions, and in a set timeframe
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Examine
Investigate, inspect or scrutinise; inquire or search into; consider or discuss an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue
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Experiment
Try out or test new ideas or methods, especially in order to discover or prove something; undertake or perform a scientific procedure to test a hypothesis, make a discovery or demonstrate a known fact
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Explain
Make an idea or situation plain or clear by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts; give an account; provide additional information
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Explicit
Clearly and distinctly expressing all that is meant; unequivocal; clearly developed or formulated; leaving nothing merely implied or suggested
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Explore
Look into both closely and broadly; scrutinise; inquire into or discuss something in detail
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Express
Convey, show or communicate (e.g. a thought, opinion, feeling, emotion, idea or viewpoint) in words, art, music or movement, convey or suggest a representation of; depict
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Extended response
An open-ended assessment technique that focuses on the interpretation, analysis/examination and/or evaluation of ideas and information in response to a particular situation or stimulus; while students may undertake some research in the writing of the extended response, it is not the focus of this technique; an extended response occurs over an extended and defined period of time; an extended response may also be an item on an examination
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Extension subject
A two-unit subject (Units 3 and 4) for which a syllabus has been developed by QCAA, that is an extension of one or more General subjects, studied concurrently with, Units 3 and 4 of that subject or after completion of, Units 3 and 4 of that subject
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Extensive
Of great extent; wide; broad; far-reaching; comprehensive; lengthy; detailed; large in amount or scale
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External assessment
Summative assessment that occurs towards the end of a course of study and is common to all schools; developed and marked by the QCAA according to a commonly applied marking scheme
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External examination
A supervised test, developed and marked by the QCAA, that assesses the application of a range of cognitions to multiple provided items such as questions, scenarios and/or problems; student responses are completed individually, under supervised conditions, and in a set timeframe
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Extrapolate
Infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information; conjecture; infer from what is known; extend the application of something (e.g. a method or conclusion) to an unknown situation by assuming that existing trends will continue or similar methods will be applicable
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F
Factual
Relating to or based on facts; concerned with what is actually the case; actually occurring; having verified existence
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Familiar
Well-acquainted; thoroughly conversant with; well known from long or close association; often encountered or experienced; common; of materials, texts, skills or circumstances, having been the focus of learning experiences or previously encountered in prior learning activities
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Feasibility report
A document that assesses potential solutions to a business problem or opportunity and determines which of these are viable for further analysis
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Feasible
Capable of being achieved, accomplished or put into effect; reasonable enough to be believed or accepted; probable; likely
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Financing
Providing a source for money for a business or project
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Finding
Information discovered as the result of an inquiry or investigation
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Fluent
Spoken or written with ease; able to speak or write smoothly, easily or readily; articulate; eloquent; characteristic of a highly developed and excellently controlled technique; flowing; polished; flowing smoothly, easily and effortlessly
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Fluently
In a graceful and seemingly effortless manner; in a way that progresses smoothly and readily
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Force field analysis
A useful decision-making technique analysing the forces for and against a change
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Formative assessment
Assessment whose major purpose is to improve teaching and student achievement
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Fragmented
Disorganised; broken down; disjointed or isolated
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Frequent
Happening or occurring often at short intervals; constant, habitual, or regular
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Fundamental
Forming a necessary base or core; of central importance; affecting or relating to the essential nature of something; part of a foundation or basis
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G
Gantt chart
A visual representation of the tasks involved in a project, shown in order against a timescale
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General subject
A subject for which a syllabus has been developed by the QCAA with the following characteristics: results from courses developed from General syllabuses contribute to the QCE; General subjects have an external assessment component; results may contribute to ATAR calculations
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Generate
Produce; create; bring into existence
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Global business
A business that carries out its activities in multiple countries
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Growth stage
A business that is consistently generating revenue, adding new customers and looking to open up new business opportunities
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H
Hypothesise
Formulate a supposition to account for known facts or observed occurrences; conjecture, theorise, speculate; especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
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I
Identify
Distinguish; locate, recognise and name; establish or indicate who or what someone or something is; provide an answer from a number of possibilities; recognise and state a distinguishing factor or feature
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Illegal
Lacking sense or sound reasoning; contrary to or disregardful of the rules of logic; unreasonable
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Implement
Put something into effect, e.g. a plan or proposal
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Implicit
Implied, rather than expressly stated; not plainly expressed; capable of being inferred from something else
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Improbable
Not probable; unlikely to be true or to happen; not easy to believe
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In-Depth
Comprehensive and with thorough coverage; extensive or profound; well-balanced or fully developed
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In-text Referencing
See citing
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Inaccurate
Not accurate
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Inappropriate
Not suitable or proper in the circumstances
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Inconsistent
Lacking agreement, as one thing with another, or two or more things in relation to each other; at variance; not consistent; not in keeping; not in accordance; incompatible, incongruous
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Independent
Thinking or acting for oneself, not influenced by others
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Infer
Derive or conclude something from evidence and reasoning, rather than from explicit statements; listen or read beyond what has been literally expressed; imply or hint at
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Infographic
A visual representation of information or data, e.g. as a chart or diagram
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Information
In business, qualitative details collected from primary or secondary sources
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Informed
Knowledgeable; learned; having relevant knowledge; being conversant with the topic; based on an understanding of the facts of the situation (of a decision or judgment)
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Innovation Theories
Ideas regarding the technological, organisational, financial, and commercial activities necessary to create, implement and market new or improved products or processes
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Innovative
New and original; introducing new ideas; original and creative thinking
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Insightful
Showing understanding of a situation or process; understanding relationships in complex situations; informed by observation and deduction
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Instrument-Specific Marking Guide
ISMG; a tool for marking that describes the characteristics evident in student responses and aligns with the identified objectives for the assessment (see 'assessment objectives')
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Integral
Necessary for the completeness of the whole; essential or fundamental
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Intended
Designed; meant; done on purpose; intentional
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Internal
Relating to environment, the elements and resources managed and controllable within a business
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Internal Assessment
Assessments that are developed by schools; summative internal assessments are endorsed by the QCAA before use in schools and results externally confirmed contribute towards a student's final result
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Interpret
Use knowledge and understanding to recognise trends and draw conclusions from given information; make clear or explicit; elucidate or understand in a particular way; bring out the meaning of, e.g., a dramatic or musical work, by performance or execution; bring out the meaning of an artwork by artistic representation or performance; give one's own interpretation of; identify or draw meaning from, or give meaning to, information presented in various forms, such as words, symbols, pictures or graphs
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Intrapreneur
A manager within a business who promotes innovative product development and marketing
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Investigate
Carry out an examination or formal inquiry in order to establish or obtain facts and reach new conclusions; search, inquire into, interpret and draw conclusions about data and information
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Investigation
An assessment technique that requires students to research a specific problem, question, issue, design challenge or hypothesis through the collection, analysis and synthesis of primary and/or secondary data; it uses research or investigative practices to assess a range of cognitions in a particular context; an investigation occurs over an extended and defined period of time
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Irrelevant
Not relevant; not applicable or pertinent; not connected with or relevant to something
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Isolated
Detached, separate, or unconnected with other things; one-off; something set apart or characterised as different in some way
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J
Judge
Form an opinion or conclusion about; apply both procedural and deliberative operations to make a determination
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Justified
Sound reasons or evidence are provided to support an argument, statement or conclusion
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Justify
Give reasons or evidence to support an answer, response or conclusion; show or prove how an argument, statement or conclusion is right or reasonable
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K
Key Business Functions
Processes within human resources, finance, marketing and operations carried out to meet business objectives and goals
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L
Large Business
Public, private, foreign-owned companies, partnerships, trusts or superannuation funds with turnover levels above $250 million; a business employing 200 or more people
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Leadership
The action or ability to organise and command a group of people or a business
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Leadership Styles
The traits, behavioural tendencies and characteristic methods of a person in a leadership position; an important dimension of leadership styles is the extent to which the leader is willing to delegate responsibility and encourage input
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Learning Area
A grouping of subjects, with related characteristics, within a broad field of learning, e.g. the Arts, sciences, languages
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Legal Ownership
Types of ownership structures available to business, including sole trader, partnership, private company, public company, trusts
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Logical
Rational and valid; internally consistent; reasonable; reasoning in accordance with the principles/rules of logic or formal argument; characterised by or capable of clear, sound reasoning; (of an action, decision, etc.) expected or sensible under the circumstances
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Logically
According to the rules of logic or formal argument; in a way that shows clear, sound reasoning; in a way that is expected or sensible
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M
Macro Environment
The wider environment that creates the forces that shape every business; the physical environment, social and cultural forces, demographic make-up, economic climate, political beliefs and current legal infrastructure are legal components of the macro environment; businesses do not have control over these factors
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Make Decisions
Select from available options; weigh up positives and negatives of each option and consider all the alternatives to arrive at a position
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Management
The process of dealing with or controlling things or people
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Management Styles
Characteristic ways of making decisions and relating to employees
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Manipulate
Adapt or change to suit one
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Market Presence
The message a business communicates to its prospect and customer base
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Marketing Mix
The traditional factors controlled by a business to influence consumer buying including product, price, place and promotion
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Maturity Stage
A business that has a dominating presence in its market — it could still be growing, but not at the substantial rate of the expansion stage
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Medium Business
Businesses employing 20 or more people, but fewer than 200 people
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Mental Procedures
A domain of knowledge in Marzano's taxonomy, and acted upon by the cognitive, metacognitive and self-systems; sometimes referred to as 'procedural knowledge'; there are three distinct phases to the acquisition of mental procedures — the cognitive stage, the associative stage, and the autonomous stage; the two categories of mental procedures are skills (single rules, algorithms and tactics) and processes (macroprocedures)
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Mergers
A combination of two things, especially businesses, into one
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Methodical
Performed, disposed or acting in a systematic way; orderly; characterised by method or order; performed or carried out systematically
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Micro Business
Businesses employing fewer than five people, including non-employing businesses
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Minimal
Least possible; small, the least amount; negligible
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Modify
Change the form or qualities of; make partial or minor changes to something
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Motivational Theories
The concepts and processes that describe the activation of goal-oriented behaviours in humans
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Multimodal
An assessment mode that uses a combination of at least two modes, delivered at the same time, to communicate ideas and information to a live or virtual audience, for a particular purpose; the selected modes are integrated to allow both modes to contribute significantly to the multimodal response
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N
Narrow
Limited in range or scope; lacking breadth of view; limited in amount; barely sufficient or adequate; restricted
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Novel Information
New information; unknown information
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Nuanced
Showing a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.; finely differentiated; characterised by subtle shades of meaning or expression; a subtle distinction, variation or quality; sensibility to, awareness of, or ability to express delicate shadings, as of meaning, feeling, or value
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O
Objectives
See 'syllabus objectives', 'unit objectives', 'assessment objectives'
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Obvious
Clearly perceptible or evident; easily seen, recognised or understood
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Operating
The external environmental factors surrounding a business that influence its activities and decisions including customers, suppliers and creditors, special interest groups and competitors
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Operational Processes
An organised set of managed activities and tasks to produce a service or product
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Optimal
Best, most favourable, under a particular set of circumstances
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Organisational Structures
The arrangement of the lines of management, communications, rights and duties of a business
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Organise
Arrange, order; form as or into a whole consisting of interdependent or coordinated parts, especially for harmonious or united action
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Organised
Systematically ordered and arranged; having a formal organisational structure to arrange, coordinate and carry out activities
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Outsourcing Power Interest
A power interest grid used to categorise business activities based on the level of strategic importance and contribution to operational performance; business activities are categorised into quadrants including form a strategic alliance, retain, outsource and eliminate
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Outstanding
Exceptionally good; clearly noticeable; prominent; conspicuous; striking
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P
PEST
A tool to analyse the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological macro environmental factors of a business situation
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PESTLE
A tool to analyse the macro environment, including the political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal and environmental factors of a business situation
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Partial
Not total or general; existing only in part; attempted, but incomplete
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Particular
Distinguished or different from others or from the ordinary; noteworthy
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Patterns
A regular and intelligible form or sequence discernible in terms of how something happens or is done
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Perceptive
Having or showing insight and the ability to perceive or understand; discerning (see also
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Persuasive
Capable of changing someone's ideas, opinions or beliefs; appearing worthy of approval or acceptance; (of an argument or statement) communicating reasonably or credibly (see also
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Perusal Time
Time allocated in an assessment to reading items and tasks and associated assessment materials; no writing is allowed; students may not make notes and may not commence responding to the assessment in the response space/book
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Plan
A proposal for doing or achieving something
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Planning Time
Time allocated in an assessment to planning how to respond to items and tasks and associated assessment materials; students may make notes but may not commence responding to the assessment in the response space/book; notes made during planning are not collected, nor are they graded or used as evidence of achievement
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Plausible
Of an argument or statement) seeming reasonable or probable
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Polished
Flawless or excellent; performed with skilful ease
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Porter’s five forces
An analytical tool used to analyse five competitive forces that shape business strategy including threat of new entry, supplier power, threat of substitution, buyer power and competitive rivalry
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Post-maturity stage
The final stage of the business life cycle; after the maturity stage; three states or outcomes are possible for a business when it reaches this stage, including renewal, steady state or decline
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Power interest grid
A tool used to analyse stakeholder power, influence and interest
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Practices
The actual application or use of an idea, belief or method, as opposed to the theories relating to it
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Precise
Definite or exact; definitely or strictly stated, defined or fixed; characterised by definite or exact expression or execution
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Precision
Accuracy; exactness; exact observance of forms in conduct or actions
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Predict
Give an expected result of an upcoming action or event; suggest what may happen based on available information
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Primary
Sources of data or information observed or collected directly from first-hand experience
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Processes
In business, a set of activities and tasks enabling the accomplishment of business goals
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Product
An assessment technique that focusses on the output or result of a process requiring the application of a range of cognitive, physical, technical, creative and/or expressive skills, and theoretical and conceptual understandings; the assessment is administered over time and involves both class and student's own time
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Proficient
Well advanced or expert in any art, science or subject; competent, skilled or adept in doing or using something
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Project
An assessment technique that focusses on a problem-solving process requiring the application of a range of cognitive, technical and creative skills and theoretical understandings; the response is a coherent work that documents the iterative process undertaken to develop a solution and includes written paragraphs and annotations, diagrams, sketches, drawings, photographs, video, spoken presentations, physical prototypes and/or models; the assessment occurs over an extended and defined period of time
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Propose
Put forward (e.g. a point of view, idea, argument, suggestion) for consideration or action
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Prove
Use a sequence of steps to obtain the required result in a formal way
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Psychomotor Procedures
A domain of knowledge in Marzano's taxonomy, and acted upon by the cognitive, metacognitive and self-systems; these are physical procedures used to negotiate daily life and to engage in complex physical activities; the two categories of psychomotor procedures are skills (foundational procedures and simple combination procedures) and processes (complex combination procedures)
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Public relations
The information and representations provided by a business to influence a favourable regard from consumers
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Purposeful
Having an intended or desired result; having a useful purpose; determined; resolute; full of meaning; significant; intentional
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Q
QCE
Queensland Certificate of Education
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R
Realise
Create or make (e.g. a musical, artistic or dramatic work); actualise; make real or concrete; give reality or substance to
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Reasonable
Endowed with reason; having sound judgment; fair and sensible; based on good sense; average; appropriate; moderate
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Reasoned
Logical and sound; based on logic or good sense; logically thought out and presented with justification; guided by reason; well-grounded; considered
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Recall
Remember; present remembered ideas, facts or experiences; bring something back into thought, attention or into one's mind
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Recognise
Identify or recall particular features of information from knowledge; identify that an item, characteristic or quality exists; perceive as existing or true; be aware of or acknowledge
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Recommendation/s
Course/s of action suggested as the most suitable for a situation or context
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Record
Set down in writing or some other permanent form for later reference
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Recruitment
The action of finding new people to join a business
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Reference List
A complete list of all sources directly referred to in a body of work
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Refined
Developed or improved so as to be precise, exact or subtle
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Reflect On
Think about deeply and carefully
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Rehearsed
Practised; previously experienced; practised extensively
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Related
Associated with or linked to
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Relationships
A connection between variables, such as a correlation
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Relevance
Being related to the matter at hand
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Relevant
Bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; to the purpose; applicable and pertinent; having a direct bearing on
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Repetitive
Containing or characterised by repetition, especially when unnecessary or tiresome
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Reporting
Providing information that succinctly describes student performance at different junctures throughout a course of study
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Resolve
(In the Arts) consolidate and communicate intent through a synthesis of ideas and application of media to express meaning
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Risk Management
A process to identify, evaluate and understand the risk of business actions and decisions in order to minimise, control or eliminate the impact of unacceptable risks
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Routine
Often encountered, previously experienced; commonplace; customary and regular; well-practised; performed as part of a regular procedure, rather than for a special reason
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Rudimentary
Relating to rudiments or first principles; elementary; undeveloped; involving or limited to basic principles; relating to an immature, undeveloped or basic form
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S
SCAMPER Technique
A tool used to develop innovative ideas for improving business products, services or processes; a mnemonic for substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate and reverse
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STEEPLE
An analytical tool used to analyse the external environmental forces affecting a business, including socio-cultural, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal and ethical
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SWOT analysis
An analytical tool used by an organisation to identify internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats
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Safe
Secure; not risky
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School-based Assessment
Assessment developed, administered and marked by teachers as part of the school curriculum; (see also 'internal assessment')
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Secondary
Sources of data and information that have not been gathered directly
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Secure
Sure; certain; able to be counted on; self-confident; poised; dependable; confident; assured; not liable to fail
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Seed Stage
A thought or an idea; the very conception or birth of a new business; the beginning of the business life cycle
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Select
To choose data and information based on its relationship or level of importance for a given context in preference to other data and information
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Sensitive
Capable of perceiving with a sense or senses; aware of the attitudes, feelings or circumstances of others; having acute mental or emotional sensibility; relating to or connected with the senses or sensation
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Sequence
Place in a continuous or connected series; arrange in a particular order
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Show
Provide the relevant reasoning to support a response
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Significant
Important; of consequence; expressing a meaning; indicative; includes all that is important; sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy; having a particular meaning; indicative of something
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Simple
Easy to understand, deal with and use; not complex or complicated; plain; not elaborate or artificial; may concern a single or basic aspect; involving few elements, components or steps
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Simplistic
Characterised by extreme simplification, especially if misleading; oversimplified
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Sketch
Execute a drawing or painting in simple form, giving essential features but not necessarily with detail or accuracy; represent by means of a diagram or graph; the sketch should give a general idea of the required shape or relationship and should include features
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Skilled
Having or showing the knowledge, ability or training to perform a certain activity or task well; having skill; trained or experienced; showing, involving or requiring skill
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Skillful
Having technical facility or practical ability; possessing, showing, involving or requiring skill; expert, dexterous; demonstrating the knowledge, ability or training to perform a certain activity or task well; trained, practised or experienced
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Small Business
A sole trader, partnership, company or trust that has less than $2 million aggregated annual turnover; a business that employs fewer than 20 people
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Solve
Find an answer to, explanation for, or means of dealing with (e.g., a problem); work out the answer or solution to (e.g., a mathematical problem); obtain the answer/s using algebraic, numerical and/or graphical methods
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Sophisticated
Of intellectual complexity; reflecting a high degree of skill, intelligence, etc.; employing advanced or refined methods or concepts; highly developed or complicated
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Sources
A resource, person or place from which data and information is collected; can be primary or secondary
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Specific
Clearly defined or identified; precise and clear in making statements or issuing instructions; having a special application or reference; explicit, or definite; peculiar or proper to something, as qualities, characteristics, effects, etc.
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Sporadic
Happening now and again or at intervals; irregular or occasional; appearing in scattered or isolated instances
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Stakeholder Power Interest
A power interest grid used to categorise stakeholders based on level of influence/power and interest in the business; stakeholders are categorised into quadrants, including meet their needs, key player, keep informed and low priority
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Stakeholder Satisfaction
The ability of the business to consider and manage stakeholder expectations in terms of achieving goals and/or objectives
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Stakeholders
A person, organised group of people or organisation with an interest or concern in something, especially a business
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Start-Up Stage
Legal existence of a business with products or services in production and first customers
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Straightforward
Without difficulty; uncomplicated; direct; easy to do or understand
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Strategic Planning
Relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them
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Strategies
The means by which a business sets out to achieve its desired goals and/or objectives
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Structure
Give a pattern, organisation or arrangement to; construct or arrange according to a plan
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Structured
Organised or arranged so as to produce a desired result
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Subject
A branch or area of knowledge or learning defined by a syllabus; school subjects are usually based in a discipline or field of study (see also 'course')
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Subject Matter
The subject-specific body of information, mental procedures and psychomotor procedures that are necessary for students' learning and engagement within that subject
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Substantial
Of ample or considerable amount, quantity, size, etc.; of real worth or value; firmly or solidly established; of real significance; reliable; important; worthwhile
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Substantiated
Established by proof or competent evidence
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Subtle
Fine or delicate in meaning or intent; making use of indirect methods; not straightforward or obvious
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Successful
Achieving or having achieved success; accomplishing a desired aim or result
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Succinct
Expressed in few words; concise; terse; characterised by conciseness or brevity; brief and clear
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Sufficient
Enough or adequate for the purpose
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Suitable
Appropriate; fitting; conforming or agreeing in nature, condition, or action
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Summarise
Give a brief statement of a general theme or major point/s; present ideas and information in fewer words and in sequence
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Summative Assessment
Assessment whose major purpose is to indicate student achievement; summative assessments occur in Units 3 and 4, and contribute towards a student's subject result
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Superficial
Concerned with or comprehending only what is on the surface or obvious; shallow; not profound, thorough, deep or complete; existing or occurring at or on the surface; cursory; lacking depth of character or understanding; apparent and sometimes trivial
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Supported
Corroborated; given greater credibility by providing evidence
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Sustainability
The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level
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Sustained
Carried on continuously, without interruption, or without any diminishing of intensity or extent
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Syllabus
A document that prescribes the curriculum for a course of study
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Syllabus objectives
Outline what the school is required to teach and what students have the opportunity to learn; described in terms of actions that operate on the subject matter; the overarching objectives for a course of study (see also
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Symbolise
Represent or identify by a symbol or symbols
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Synthesise
Combine different parts or elements (e.g. information, ideas, components) into a whole, in order to create new understanding
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Systematic
Done or acting according to a fixed plan or system; methodical; organised and logical; having, showing, or involving a system, method, or plan; characterised by system or method; methodical; arranged in, or comprising an ordered system
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T
Test
Take measures to check the quality, performance or reliability of something
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Thorough
Carried out through, or applied to the whole of something; carried out completely and carefully; including all that is required; complete with regard to/attentive to every detail; not superficial or partial; performed or written with care and completeness; taking pains to do something carefully and completely
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Thoughtful
Occupied with, or given to thought; contemplative; meditative; reflective; characterised by or manifesting thought
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Topic
A division of, or sub-section within a unit; all topics within a unit are interrelated
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Total Product Concept
All intangible and intangible offerings and benefits a customer obtains from a product
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Total Quality Management
An approach to management based on the principle that every employee and manager is committed to continuous improvement in every aspect of a business's operations
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Trends
A general direction in which something is developing or changing
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U
USP
An analytical tool used to analyse a business and its competitors to determine the unique selling proposition
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Unclear
Not clear or distinct; not easy to understand; obscure
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Understand
Perceive what is meant by something; grasp; be familiar with (e.g. an idea); construct meaning from messages, including oral, written and graphic communication
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Uneven
Unequal; not properly corresponding or agreeing; irregular; varying; not uniform; not equally balanced
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Unfamiliar
Not previously encountered; situations or materials that have not been the focus of prior learning experiences or activities
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Unique Selling Proposition
USP; the unique combination of experiences a business provides to customers that its competitors do not
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Unit
A defined amount of subject matter delivered in a specific context or with a particular focus; it includes unit objectives particular to the unit, subject matter and assessment direction
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Unit Objectives
Drawn from the syllabus objectives and contextualised for the subject matter and requirements of a particular unit; they are assessed at least once in the unit (see also 'syllabus objectives', 'assessment objectives')
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Unrelated
Having no relationship; unconnected
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Unresolved
Uncertain of what to think or do, remaining incomplete or not resolved
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Use
Operate or put into effect; apply knowledge or rules to put theory into practice
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V
Vague
Not definite in statement or meaning; not explicit or precise; not definitely fixed, determined or known; of uncertain, indefinite or unclear character or meaning; not clear in thought or understanding; couched in general or indefinite terms; not definitely or precisely expressed; deficient in details or particulars; thinking or communicating in an unfocused or imprecise way
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Valid
Sound, just or well-founded; authoritative; having a sound basis in logic or fact (of an argument or point); reasonable or cogent; able to be supported; legitimate and defensible; applicable
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Variable
Apt or liable to vary or change; changeable; inconsistent; (readily) susceptible or capable of variation; fluctuating, uncertain
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Variety
A number or range of things of different kinds, or the same general class, that are distinct in character or quality; (of sources) a number of different modes or references
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W
Wide
Of great range or scope; embracing a great number or variety of subjects, cases, etc.; of full extent
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