| A | B |
|---|
| Brand competition | Competition between two similar products |
| Business cycles | Periods of expansion and contraction in economic activities |
| Carbon footprint | A measure of the impact of human activity on the environment |
| Competition | The rivalry between two or more businesses to attract scarce customer dollars |
| Culture | The customs, habits, and traditions of a particular group of people |
| Currency exchange rate | Specification of how much two currencies are worth in relation to each other (also known as exchange rate and foreign exchange rate) |
| Demographics | The physical and social characteristics of the population |
| Dynamic | Changing; changeable (able to be changed) |
| Economy | The system in which people make and spend their incomes |
| Environment | Surroundings |
| Environmental scanning | Collecting information about the environment surrounding your business |
| External environment | A business’s external, uncontrollable surroundings; consists of elements such as demographics, society and culture, the economy, competition, government, and technology |
| Financial planner | A professional who specializes in helping people with personal financial matters |
| Fiscal policy | The government policy that sets levels of government spending and taxation |
| Inflation | A rapid rise in prices that may occur when demand exceeds supply or when productivity declines and costs of labor go up |
| Information | Knowledge, facts, or data |
| Information overload | Communication that is too much and/or comes too fast to process at one time |
| Internal environment | A business’s internal, controllable surroundings; consists of elements such as finances, personnel, research and development, production, and marketing |
| Interrelated | Having an effect on or depending upon one another |
| Investor confidence | The attitudes of investors toward risk |
| Market research | The systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about a specific issue, situation, or concern that affects a market |
| Marketing campaign | A business’s organized efforts to promote a certain product or line of products |
| Monetary policy | The government policy that determines the amount of money that will be in circulation and the level of interest rates |
| Opportunity | A favorable situation in the environment surrounding your business |
| Political climate | Government environment |
| Political stability | The degree to which a government is free from turmoil |
| Prosperity | A state of economic growth |
| Recession | A state of economic decline |
| Recovery | A period of time in which an economy grows from recession to prosperity |
| Social and cultural attitudes | The belief and feelings of people in a society that cause them to act in certain ways |
| Society | A group of individuals who share an environment |
| Strategic planning | Long-range planning (three to five years) for the company as a whole |
| Strength | Any resource or capability your business has that can help you gain a competitive advantage in your industry |
| Subsidy | Government financial help given to a business |
| Substitute products | Two different products that satisfy the same need |
| Tactic | A plan for accomplishing a specific goal |
| Threat | Any unfavorable situation in the environment surrounding your business |
| Unemployment rate | The percentage of the workforce that is unemployed |
| Weakness | Any limitation or shortcoming your business has that can keep you from achieving your objectives |
| Zoning regulations | Laws governing the use of land |
