Do
you plan on starting your own business? Or maybe you work for a major corporation.
Whether you work for yourself or for a big company, every business operation needs a highly skilled administrator in order to succeed.
Business administrators are responsible for the organizing, managing and operating functions of a company.
You may have met business administrators who go by the job titles of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), General Manager or Operations Manager.
If you're interested in learning more about this line of work, you'll be excited to know that we'll be discussing the vocabulary related to business administration here today.
Even if you don't think you're interested in this area, these words are still very useful for understanding business in general.
But first, let's look at some traits (qualities) you'll need if you want a career in business administration.
Enterprising. This means that you're quick to see new business opportunities and use them to the financial benefit of your business. You show a willingness to take risks and create new projects.
A team player. You work well with others. You have the people skills to manage and work with your co-workers, employees and business partners.
Goal-oriented. You're deeply involved in setting and achieving goals that will drive your sales and profits into long-term success. You're someone who is organized and focused on producing results.
(1) Facilitate
To facilitate means to make things easier and help them run more smoothly. A facilitator is the person whose job is to facilitate.
The course facilitator is there to provide guidance and encouragement for the group to find out the answers for themselves.
(2) Coordinate
The verb to coordinate means to arrange for two or more parties (people or groups) to work together. The person who coordinates tasks or activities is known as a coordinator.
We need someone to coordinate the conference call with our business partners in Europe and Asia.
(3) Prioritize
To prioritize means to deal with things in their order of importance or urgency. Things that are more important are given a higher priority so they get done before the less important things.
I have eight emails waiting in my inbox. Let me prioritize which ones I should answer first.
(4) Schedule
The verb to schedule means to plan for an event (such as meetings, conference calls and deliveries) to take place at a certain time and place.
Peter's stuck in a traffic jam. We may run into scheduling problems if we can't confirm what time he'll be at the office for the meeting.
(5) Process
The verb to process means to put something through a series of actions to achieve a certain result. The noun processing describes the series of actions and steps needed to produce a certain result.
You may submit your business loan application today. Processing usually takes up to two to three weeks.
(6) Motivate
The verb to motivate means to provide a good reason for doing something, or to encourage someone to work harder.
George doesn't seem to be putting in much effort lately. It's time his sales manager steps in and motivates him to meet his quota.
(7) Collaborate
The verb to collaborate means to work together with another person or group to achieve a common goal.
Higher management wants us to collaborate with our partners in Britain to develop a better product.
(8) Supervise
The verb to supervise means to direct and be in charge of someone or something. The adjective supervisory is used to describe the quality of someone who's in charge.
The contractor will be in later to supervise the office remodeling.
(9) Document
You might already know that the noun document refers to a paper or computer file. The noun documentation refers to the creation of records or files.
I think you should read the document carefully before signing it.
(10) Budget
The verb to budget means to make a plan for the amount of money to spend on something. The word budget can also be used as a noun to mean the amount of money that's made available for spending.
If you're organizing a year-end office party, you'll have to work out a budget for it.
(11) Negotiate
The verb to negotiate means to formally discuss something and come to an agreement. The noun negotiation refers to the formal discussion to arrive at a decision that all parties agree to.
After a week of negotiation, we still can't agree on the terms of the contract.
(12) Implement
The verb to implement means to effectively start using or enforcing an action or plan. You might implement a set of measures or rules, for instance.
We're now ready to implement security measures that we hope will make this office building a safer place for our employees.
(13) Communicate
You've probably heard of the verb to communicate, which means to pass on information to someone. The noun communication refers to the act of expressing or exchanging information.
Due to the lack of communication, we don't have all the facts we need.
(14) Recruit
The verb to recruit means to find suitable people to work for your company.
After securing this deal, we had to recruit more managers to head the projects.
(15) Authorize
The verb to authorize means to give approval or permission to someone to do something. Authorization, or the act of giving approval, is commonly given in the form of a signature.
I'll have to get my supervisor to authorize this check before I send it to you.
(16) Merchandise
The noun merchandise simply refers to the products or goods that are bought and sold by your company.
This year, there has been an increase in our imports of foreign merchandise.
(17) Inventory
The noun inventory refers to the items or products you have in stock.
The year end is the time when we check our stock and update our inventory lists.
(18) Turnover
The noun turnover is pretty interesting. It may refer to the amount of money your company receives in sales, or the rate at which your company's merchandise is sold and replaced by new stock. It could also mean the rate at which staff leave your company and are then replaced by new people.
Our total sales turnover this year is higher than the past two years combined. You can all expect a bonus at the end of the year.
(19) Distribution
The noun distribution refers to the delivery of products or merchandise to your store or business.
The new manager takes care of the distribution of our sports and fitness products to other countries.
(20) Profitability
The noun profitability refers to the profit or amount of money gained from your sales or business.
Management would like you to conduct a study of the profitability of expanding our market overseas.
