SAMPLE DEFINITIONS

Interest groups (also known as pressure groups) are organisations representing people (or stakeholders) who share a common viewpoint, interest or goal. They try to influence the behaviour and decisions of others, usually the Government or the EU, by engaging in lobbying, negotiation, campaigns, public protests, boycotts or legal actions. The Competition and Consumer Protection

Commission (CCPC) is the State agency responsible for promoting fair competition and protecting the interests of consumers. It is responsible for the enforcement of a wide range of consumer protection laws. The CCPC was established in October 2014 under the Consumer Protection Act through the merger of the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority. Enterprise involves the risk of organising all the resources necessary to provide a product or service in order to exploit an opportunity for a possible reward called profit. Enterprise is being innovative and creative while taking personal/financial risk to achieve one’s goal. A span of control is the number of people who report directly to one manager in the hierarchy. The span may be wide or narrow, depending on factors such as the type/ difficulty of work, the quality of both the manager and staff, the service being provided, or the type of product being made. Employee empowerment means placing real power, which includes decision-making and full responsibility in the hands of employees. Empowering workers enables staff to take responsibility for their own job and make decisions, which will improve their work. Market segmentation involves dividing up the market into clearly identifiable sections, which have common characteristics (such as young males, high-income females, sports enthusiasts). It allows a firm to identify who their target market is. The two most common methods of segmenting a market are demographic and psychological. Limited liability means if the company goes bankrupt (is wound up), the owners’ loss will only be the amount they have invested in the company. They will not be personally liable for the debts of the company. The shareholders cannot be requested to pay more than the value of the shares registered in their names. Protectionism involves governments protecting their home industries from foreign competition by imposing barriers to trade, such as tariffs, quotas and embargoes. Protectionism measures are put in place to reduce imports and/or make them more expensive, to protect jobs, protect specific industries and to improve the balance of payments.