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A-Z Glossary

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Glossary Definitions

  • Packaging
    Often referred to as the 5th P of the marketing mix. Packaging is a way of promoting a good by including important information including nutritional, legal and safety requirements. It also acts as protection for the product.
  • Participation Rate
    This is the proportion of the population aged between 15 and 64 who are in the labour force. The higher the rate of participation, the greater the supply of labour (a factor of production) available in a country.
  • Partnership
    A business partnership is a mutually beneficial arrangement that combines the strengths of two or more organisations in a way that produces an economy of scale. Many businesses extend the conventional model of partnership by forming relationships with other types of organisations, such as charities.
  • Amway (10th Edition)
  • Pay As You Go
    This refers to the government paying its pensions liabilities from current tax and non-tax revenue.
  • Dept of Finance (5th Edition)
  • Perceptual Map
    Perceptual Map – the use of a graph or map in the development of a product positioning using two measurements, relative to the those of a competitors product to give an indication of the new product's likely success.
  • Fiat (7th Edition)
  • Performance Indicators
    Methods of measuring how a company or a workforce is performing. The company can be monitored by means of ratio analysis. This will yield vital information on profitability, liquidity and solvency, etc. Performance of workers can be gauged according to the targets set down and these will be compared with actual performance during employee appraisals.
  • Personal Pension Plan
    These are contracts effected with an insurance company.They are applicable to the self-employed and to persons in non-pensionable employment. This type of pension is fully funded by the policyholders. | The Pensions Board (6th Edition)
  • Personal Public Service Number
    This unique reference number will help you to access benefits and information from public service agencies more quickly and more easily. This includes services such as Social Welfare, Revenue, Public Healthcare and Education.
  • Office of the Revenue Commissioners (10th Edition)
  • Personal selling
    One-to-one communication, typically between a salesperson and a customer.
  • National Lottery (13th Edition)
  • Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PSRAs)
    A PSRA is a contract between an individual and an authorised PSRA provider in the form of an investment vehicle used for long term retirement provision by employees, self-employed, homemakers and any other category of person.
  • The Pensions Board (6th Edition) | The Pensions Board (11th Edition)
  • Physical Capital
    Any non-human asset made by humans and then used in production.
  • Microsoft (9th Edition)
  • Positioning / Product Positioning
    This is the positioning of a product or brand in the mind of the consumer. Main factors that are valued by consumers when making decisions are matched with product and/or branding features to position that product/brand.
  • Point of Sale
    This is usually in retail outlets, and is the physical area where a customer selects a product. Point of sale material is publicity material provided by a supplier for the use of a retailer at the point-of-sale.
  • O2 (9th Edition) | Cadbury (9th Edition) | Masterfoods (5th Edition) | Musgrave (5th Edition)
  • Portfolio
    This is the group of assets, such as stocks and bonds, held by an investor. In order to reduce risk, an investor (in this case The Atlantic Philanthropies) diversifies over a range of investments.
  • The Atlantic Philantropies(12th Edition)
  • Positioning Strategy
    This describes the way in which a product or service is understood by consumers based on important attributes.
  • USIT (6th Edition)
  • Preference shares
    Holders of these shares receive fixed dividends before ordinary shareholders. Established companies tend to receive funding in the form of preference shares.
  • Enterprise Ireland (5th Edition)
  • Preliminary Results
    Company results for the full trading year.
  • Premium
    The sum of money paid by an insured person to the insurance company in return for a promise of compensation, should financial loss occur.
  • Hibernian (10th Edition)
  • Premium Brand
    This is a quality brand with considerable brand equity that may command a premium price for the perceived quality.
  • Guinness (7th Edition)
  • Pre-tax profit
    Profits of a company before deductions for tax. It is the most common yardstick used to judge company performance.
  • Primary Sector Economy
    This generally involves the conversion of natural resources into primary products. Most products from this sector are commodities or raw materials for other industries. Major businesses in this sector include agriculture, agribusiness, fishing, forestry and all mining and quarrying industries. The secondary sector of industry is the manufacturing sector. This sector of industry generally takes the output of the primary sector and manufactures finished goods. The tertiary sector is effectively the service industry.
  • Department of Agriculture (8th Edition)
  • Private Equity Investments
    These are investments in the equity securities of private businesses. Private equity investments are held either through limited partnerships or as direct ownership interests.
  • The Atlantic Philantropies(12th Edition)
  • Private Limited Company
    Private companies may issue stock and have shareholders. However, their shares do not trade on public exchanges and are not issued through an IPO.
  • AIB (10th Edition)
  • Privatisation
    A procedure to pursue a free-market economy for state-owned companies, and make them available for new investments by inviting private businesses to assume part or full ownership and management.
  • Dept. of Finance (6th Edition) | EU Commission (11th Edition)
  • Product Brands
    This is a branded product that is distinct from the corporate brand and often forms part of an overall product portfolio.
  • Guinness (7th Edition)
  • Product Development
    This describes the stages that occur from the time a business generates a new business idea to the launch of that particular product on the market.
  • Elan (5th Edition)
  • Product Life Cycle
    The different stages of a products sales rate can generally be defined in terms of development, launch, growth, maturity and decline. These stages are used as guidelines in altering the resources used to support the product or service.
  • Dell (9th Edition) | Beiersdorf (6th Edition)| GlaxoSmithKline (5th Edition) | Microsoft (7th Edition) | National Lottery (13th Edition)
  • Professional development
    The advancement of skills or expertise through continued education.
  • Musgrave (12th Edition)
  • Profit
    Gross Profit is calculated by subtracting direct costs from sales revenue. Direct costs are costs such as stocks and other costs that are directly associated with sales. When we subtract overheads from Gross Profit we get Net Profit.
  • Amway (9th Edition) | CRH (8th Edition)
  • Programme for Prosperity and Fairness
    A nationally negotiated agreement between the social partners i.e. employers, trade unions, farmers and community groupings. Like the other agreements (PNR, PESP etc) they involve a trade off where the unions agree to relatively moderate pay increases in return for tax reform, job creation measures etc.
  • Promotion
    An element of the marketing mix that involves communicating with the target market. The promotional mix will often include sales promotion , advertising, direct selling and public relations elements.
  • Coca-Cola (5th Edition)
  • Property damage
    Property damage claims against the State are taken by persons whose property has been damaged by State activities or employees of the State.
  • NTMA (10th Edition)
  • Promotions Mix
    The promotions mix is name given to the combination of the four main methods of promoting the benefits of a brand. These are: Advertising, Personal Selling, Public Relations (PR) & Sponsorship and Sales Promotion.
  • Prototype
    A sample of a new product. The sample is made to conduct more extensive market and product research.
  • PRSA
    A PRSA is a Personal Retirement Savings Account. It is an account which is designed to make saving for retirement as easy and flexible as possible.
  • Financial Regulator (10th Edition)
  • PRSI
    A shortened name for Pay Related Social Insurance, under which individuals who earn an income pay a related contribution to the Social Insurance Fund, and in return are covered for certain Social Insurance Benefits, e.g. Retirement Pension, Social Welfare Old Age (Contributory) Pension.
  • Revenue (7th Edition) | The Pensions Board (11th Edition) |
    The Pensions Board (13th Edition)
  • Public Liability
    Public liability claims against the State are usually for personal injuries caused as a result of the activities of a State authority. Public liability claims are typically taken by members of the public, prisoners, school children etc.
  • NTMA (10th Edition)
  • Public Limited Company
    A company that issued securities through an initial public offering and which are traded on at least one stock exchange.
  • AIB (10th Edition)
  • Public private partnership (PPP)
    A contractual arrangement between the public and private sectors, with clear agreement on shared objectives, for the delivery of
    a project or service.
  • NRA (9th Edition) | Iarnród Éireann (8th Edition)| NTMA (8th Edition)
  • Public Relations
    Establishing and maintaining a good image for the organisation (and for a business, its products or services). It includes interviews with the press, public launches of new products, appropriate conduct when dealing with the public.
  • Department of Health (9th Edition) | National Lottery (13th Edition)
  • Public Relations campaign
    This is a campaign aimed at promoting the good name of an organisation to create greater awareness of the business.
  • Public Sector
    This includes all workers employed in the civil service, the health services, education, defence, non-commercial and commercial state bodies and those employed in the local authorities. Therefore teachers, members of An Garda Síochána, staff of local authorities and health services belong to the wider public service.
    See http://www.irlgov.ie/organisations/ for more information.
  • Civil Service (7th Edition)
  • Public Transport
    Transport supplied by the state agencies, for example Bus Eireann. This service is often run at a loss because of the government's social obligations. It often involves servicing areas that private transport operations would not touch because they are unprofitable.
  • Publicly Quoted
    A company with shares that are traded on a Stock Exchange.
  • CRH (8th Edition)
  • Purchase Order
    A document that contains a list of the type and quantity of goods being bought.
  • Amway (10th Edition)