ABC's of Business Management

My name is Shems, I've been studying Business Management for two years, and this is my glossary. This glossary will help students who want to have a better understanding of their field of study: Business Management. This glossary contains 21 words directly related to your field of study along with their definition, their translation in French, an example and a picture. The words and their definitions were found in the book "Actively Engaged", the translations and the examples were found on the website Linguee, and the images were found on google image. I now invite you to have a look at some of the words, as it will help you to have a better understanding of the business world waiting for you at the end of your studies.

Commodity: Noun; A raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee; Example: A variety of commodities is traded on the global markets.; fr: Produits de base, marchandise
Benchmarking: noun; Comparing one’s products to those of competitors in order to improve quality and performance.; Example: My company uses benchmarking to study the competition.; fr: Étalonnage des performances
Bill of lading: noun; A document issued by a carrier to a shipper, listing and acknowledging receipt of goods for transport and specifying terms of delivery.; Example: The bill of lading provided by the seller showed that the notify party was the buyer.; fr: Connaissement
Dividend: noun; A portion of a company’s earnings which is paid to the shareholders or stockholders on a quarterly or annual basis.; Example: The company pays shareholders a dividend.; fr: Dividende
Down payment: noun; Good faith deposit made by a buyer to underline his or her commitment to complete the deal.; Example: He had to make a down payment to buy his car on credit.; fr: Acompte
Downsizing: noun; Making a company smaller by eliminating staff positions through lay-offs.; Example: The company is downsizing its workforce.; fr: Réduction des effectifs
Freight: Goods transported by truck, train, ship, or aircraft.; Example: Air freight is the fastest way to deliver goods.; fr: fret, transport
Contractor: noun; A person who is hired to perform work or to provide goods at a certain price or within a certain time.; Example: A contractor renovated the company's premises.; fr: Entrepreneur, contractant
Credit account: noun; An account which a customer has with a shop which allows him or her to buy goods and pay for them later.; Example: This card is my only open credit account; fr: Compte de crédit
Incentive: noun; A thing that motivates or encourages one to do something.; Example: The year-end bonus is an incentive to work hard.; fr: Incitatif
Invoice: noun; A list of goods sent or services provided, with a statement of the sum due for these; a bill.; Example: All the fees are detailed on the invoice.; fr: Une facture
Joint venture: noun; A way of entering a foreign market by joining with a foreign company to manufacture or market a product or service; Example: The company is looking into establishing a joint venture with a foreign competitor.; fr: Entreprise commune
Overdraft: noun; A deficit in a bank account caused by drawing more money than the account holds.; Example: The bank charges interest in case of overdraft.; fr: Découvert
Retail: noun; The sale of goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption.; Example: There are many jobs in the retail sector.; fr: Commerce de détail
Wholesale: noun; The sale of goods in large quantities.; Example: In my trade, wholesale is more profitable than retail.; fr: Commerce en gros
Share: noun; One of the equal parts into which a company’s capital is divided, entitling the holder to a proportion of the profits.; Example: The investor bought shares in the company.; fr: Une action
Withdraw: verb; Take money from a bank account; Example: I went to the bank to withdraw money from my account.; fr: Retirer
Break even: verb; Reach a point in a business venture when the profits are equal to the costs.; Example: We have sold enough products to break even.; fr: Atteindre le seuil de rentabilité
Bookkeeping: noun; The activity or occupation of keeping records of the financial affairs of a business.; Example: My firm is small, so I do the bookkeeping myself.; fr: Comptabilité
Bond: noun; A debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (corporate or governmental) that borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate.; Example: Corporate bonds offer lower risks than shares.; fr: Une obligation
Cold call: noun; An unsolicited visit or telephone call made by someone trying to sell goods or services.; Example: Cold call is hard because you have to deal with rejection a lot.; fr: Prospection téléphonique