Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Acid-test ratio

The acid-test ratio is one of several ratio analysis calculations that can be used to tell how well a company is doing. It is a test of liquidity which a company can use to see if it is in a safe position to pay its short-term debts – does it have enough cash to pay its bills?

The acid-test ratio shows whether there are enough assets without stock to cover the current liabilities. Stock is not taken into account as stock is the least liquid asset – if you need money quickly you may not be able to sell it straight away.

This is how you work out the acid-test ratio:

Current assets less stock : Current Liabilities

The ideal acid-test ratio is 2:1.

Advocate

A person or organisation that speaks, writes or acts in support or defence of someone or something.

Aeration

The adding of air, e.g. to a liquid to change its texture.

Aesthetic

Relating to the appreciation of beauty (or in this case how good something looks, feels, smells or tastes).

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

An AGM is a yearly meeting of the members of an organisation.

In a public limited company (PLC), an AGM is attended by shareholders who are told about the company’s performance in the past year, vote on important issues, approve the year’s accounts and elect the company’s directors.

Appraisal

An appraisal is a one-to-one meeting between an employee and their manager or mentor to assess how well the employee is doing, any worries he/she has and how the company might be able to help them to achieve their career aims and ambitions. Performance targets for the next year may also be agreed.

Armature

The rotating part of a dynamo consisting of copper wire wound around an iron core.

Aroma

A smell (usually a pleasant one).

Artisan

A craftsperson.

Asset

A valuable item that is owned. In accounting, assets can include cash, stock, inventories, property rights and goodwill.

Attribute

A quality or characteristic.

Attribute analysis

Studying and assessing the qualities or characteristics of something.

Balance sheet

A financial record showing a summary of a company’s assets and liabilities on a particular date. A balance sheet is often described as a “snapshot” of a company’s financial position on a given date.

Batch production

A production method used to make products in batches. This method is used if a range of similar products is being made (e.g. different flavours of ice-cream) or if the size of the market for a product is unclear. Machinery might be set to make one type of product (e.g. strawberry ice cream) and is then reset to make another similar product (e.g. vanilla ice cream).

Biodiversity

A variety of life forms within an ecosystem or specific geographic region.

Bioplastics

A type of plastic derived from plant sources, such as hemp oil, soy bean oil or corn starch, rather than than petroleum, like traditional plastics.

Cadbury Cocoa Partnership (CCP)

In 2008 Cadbury set up the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership to help around a million cocoa farming communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Cadbury will work in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), other partners and the farmers themselves, investing £45million over the next 10 years.

The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership marks 100 years since the Cadbury brothers first began trading in Ghana and aims to support the development of sustainable cocoa growing communities.

The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership will:

Improve cocoa farmers’ incomes, by helping them to grow more, better quality cocoa beans.
Introducing new sources of income, by helping people to grow other crops as well as cocoa or to set up new businesses.
Investing in communities, e.g. supporting education through schools and libraries, supporting the environment through biodiversity projects and building wells for clean, safe water.
Working in partnership with farmers, governments, NGOs and international agencies to decide how the funding is spent and to turn plans into action.

Cash crop

This is an agricultural term used to describe crops that are grown for selling rather than eating. A lot of farmers’ livelihoods can depend on cash crops.

Cash flow

Money flowing into an organisation shown against money flowing out of the organisation. A cash flow problem occurs when more money is going out than coming in. Also the net income from an asset or assets over a given period (after tax).

Cassava

An edible starchy root vegetable from South America. It is now grown in Africa, where it is an important staple food.

Channel of distribution

The way in which a product is transferred from a manufacturer to an end user.

Chocolate crumb

Cocoa mass mixed with fresh liquid full cream milk and sugar, condensed to a thick liquid and dried in a vacuum oven. Chocolate crumb is used in the production of chocolate.

Chocolatier

A person skilled in the art of chocolate making.

Cocoa butter

A pale-yellow, edible natural vegetable fat extracted from cocoa mass by putting it in a heavy duty-press. Cocoa butter is used in the production of chocolate.

Cocoa mass

A rich, oily substance made by grinding cocoa nibs between steel rollers. Cocoa mass is the basis of all cocoa and chocolate products. Also called cocoa liquor.

Cocoa nibs

Roasted cocoa bean ground down into small pieces.

Cocoa powder

A powder made by extracting about half the cocoa butter in cocoa mass by putting it in a heavy-duty press.

Commerce

Business.

Commercial strategy

A business plan – a way of approaching things

Competitor shopping

Competitor shopping is the process of assessing the performance, customer service, prices etc. of rival businesses and comparing it against your own.

Conching

The process of mixing and beating semi-liquid chocolate to develop the flavour, remove unwanted flavours and reduce the viscosity (thickness) and particle size.

Consumer

A person who actually uses a product.

Consumer-led insight

An idea or piece of information coming out of research done with consumers.

Continuous roaster

A revolving drum through with hot air passing though it, which cocoa beans move through in order to develop their flavour and to make their shells brittle enough to remove.

Corporate identity

The identity or image of itself that a company tried to convey.

Corporate strategy

A company’s vision and approach to achieving that vision.

Countline

An individually-wrapped, chocolate-covered bar sold by numbers rather than by weight.

Curing

The process of preserving or developing flavour (e.g. by salting, smoking or aging).

Current ratio

The current ratio is one of several ratio analysis calculations that can be used to tell how well a company is doing. It is a test of liquidity which a company can use to see if it is in a safe position to pay its short-term debts – does it have enough cash to pay its bills?

The current ratio shows whether there are enough assets to cover the current liabilities.

This is how you work out the current ratio:

Current assets : Current Liabilities

The ideal current ratio is 2:1.

Data

Facts, statistics etc.; information.

Dividend

A share of profits received by a shareholder.

Drinking chocolate

Cocoa powder mixed with sugar and flavourings that can be mixed with milk or water to make a hot chocolate drink.

Dysentery

An infectious disease caused by bacteria or parasites. It leads to severe diarrhoea.

Enrobing

The process of covering something in chocolate by passing it on a continuous belt beneath a curtain of liquid chocolate

Ethical

If a company acts ethically, it is acting in a socially responsible way. For example a chemical company may decide to control its pollution levels even more than the law requires it to because it has concerns for the environment.

Export

To sell or ship abroad.

Extruding

The process of forcing or piping something out (e.g. by using a piping bag with a nozzle).

Fermenting

The process of using an agent to make an organic substance break down into a simple substance.

Flagship

The best or most important one of a group.

Flow production

A production method used to make large numbers of identical products for which there is a mass market (e.g. computers or cars). The product moves continually along a production line, being assembled in bulk, with one part of the product being added at each stage.

Focus group

An in-depth discussion of a small group of people who have been invited to discuss a particular product. For example, a company may ask a group of consumers from the market they are targeting to come and discuss what sort of product they are looking for.

Gross National Product (GNP)

The total market value of all the goods and services produced by a nation during a given period.

Gross profit

Gross profit is the difference between the buying price and selling price of the goods – the profit before any of the costs of running the business are taken into account.

Gross Profit Ratio or Gross Profit Margin

Gross Profit Ratio is the total profit that a business has made in a year as a percentage of the company’s sales. Working this out helps the business compare performance from one year to the next and decide how efficiently it is using its raw materials.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

A risk assessment system used in the food industry for quality assurance purposes.

Harvest

To gather (a crop).

Hierarchy

The structure of an organisation.

Innovate

To introduce something new; make changes in anything established.

Integral

Essential or necessary for completeness.

Job production

A production method used to make one-off products. This method is used if a customer orders a product be made to his or her own specifications as a special “job”, e.g. a made-to-measure wedding dress.

Kibbling

The process of breaking down cocoa beans into smaller pieces called cocoa nibs.

Less Economically Developed Country (LEDC)

A country with lower levels of development based on economic indicators such as its income (Gross Domestic Product, or GDP).

Life expectancy

The average number of years that a person can expect to live.

Liability

A debt.

Liquidity

Being in cash or easily convertible to cash. A liquid asset is one that can be sold quickly and with minimum loss of value if a company needs cash to pay off its debts.

Mallet

A tool with a large head, used to strike a surface without damaging it.

Market research

The process of finding out about or analysing the market for goods and services, e.g. by holding focus groups with consumers.

Mass production

The production of large quantities of goods using flow production methods.

Mentor

A person who gives support and guidance.

Migration

The movement of something from one pace to another, e.g. of chemicals from food packaging into the food itself.

Millennium Development Goals

In September 2000, 190 countries signed up to a range of goals and targets designed to reduce poverty and hunger and improve the life for people in developing countries. The goals include:

to eradicate poverty and hunger
to provide a universal primary education
to foster gender equality
to reduce child mortality
to improve maternal health
to combat HIV/AIDS
to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop global partnership for development).

Mind mapping

The process of creating mind maps as a way of brainstorming. A mind map is a diagram showing words and ideas linked to a central word or idea. It is used to help brainstorm or solve problems.

More Economically Developed Country (MEDC)

A country with higher levels of development based on economic indicators such as the country’s income (Gross Domestic Product, or GDP).

Mood board

Designers use mood or concept boards to convey the overall feel of a project, putting together images and objects which inspire and communicate their ideas.

Net profit

Net profit is the profit after all the costs of running the business (the overheads ) have been subtracted.

Net Profit Ratio or Net Profit Margin

Net Profit Ratio is the total profit that a business has made in a year, minus its costs, as a percentage of sales. Working out net profit as a percentage of sales helps the business compare performance from one year to the next and to decide how efficiently it is using its plant, people and equipment.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

An organisation that is not run by the government which aims to bring about particular social or economic goals.

Otto of roses

An essential oil made from the petals of roses.

Overheads

Indirect costs, or fixed costs, of running a business which do not vary with production. These include the costs of owning or renting a factory, heating and lighting etc.

Panning

The process of using large continuously revolving drums to coat something with something else, e.g. a chocolate centre with sugar.

Plantain

A plantain looks a bit like a banana, but it is more starchy than sweet and must be cooked before being eaten.

Procurement

The process of getting hold of something, e.g. the raw ingredients needed to make chocolate.

Product development

The process of developing a new product or updating an old one, from the first idea through to the launch of the product.

Product launch

The introduction of a product into the shops for consumers to buy.

Product life cycle

A product’s life cycle is all the stages that it passes through – e.g. research and development, growth, expansion, maturity, saturation, and decline. If sales of a product start to fall, companies must decide whether it has reached the end of its lifestyle and should be withdrawn from sale or if changes can be made to the product which will make more people want to buy it and will extend its life cycle.

Profit and loss account

A financial statement showing revenue, gross profit and net profit over a given period.

Proposal

An idea being put forward for development.

Proposition

A proposal or suggestion, e.g. for a product’s development.

Prototype

A full-scale working model of a new product or new version of an existing product.

Prototyping

The process of trialling or modelling products, or putting together a prototype.

Pulp

A soft, damp, shapeless mass.

Queen Mother

A title or position. The mother of a reigning King or Queen.

Recyclable

That is capable of being recycled.

Risk assessment

The process of analysing the possibility of risk and its likely impact.

ROCE

The return on capital employed (ROCE) ratio helps analyse performance and tells shareholders what return they are getting from the money they are investing in the company. ROCE shows how effectively the business’s capital is being used to generate profit. You can use ROCE to compare how well a business is doing from year to year, or to compare one business with another similar one.

Scabies

A contagious skin disease caused by a parasitic mite. It results in severe itching.

Scaling up

The process of increasing the quantities of ingredients in a recipe or formulation for mass production.

SCAMPER

SCAMPER is a way of developing an idea. SCAMPER is an acronym:

S – Substitute
C – Combine
A – Adapt
M – Modify
P – Put to other purposes
E – Eliminate
R – Rearrange / Reverse

For example, if you were looking at S (Substitute) you might ask yourself whether substituting one ingredient for another might give you a better new chocolate product – e.g. would caramel work better than marshmallow?

Seasonal

Of or dependent on a particular season.

Selfline

Selflines are identical individual chocolate sweets.

Shareholder

A person who owns a share in a company.

Shelling

The process of putting liquid chocolate into a mould to form a shell into which another filling may be inserted.

Shelf life

The length of time a product may be stored without becoming unsuitable for use or consumption.

Shift

A block of working time. At Cadbury the shifts are 12 hours with workers coming in, working for 12 hours, and then going home.

Sourcing

The process of identifying where ingredients will be supplied from

Staff development

The identification of what needs to be done in order to develop staff to make them more effective in their jobs and the introduction of training, procedures etc. to meet those needs.

Sustainability

Capable of being sustained; a way of using a resource so that it is not used up or permanently damaged.

Sustainable

Doing something or using something to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainable development

Development that uses resources to meet human needs in a way that allows these needs to be met in the future.

Taint

To contaminate. Food can become tainted with other flavours or aromas, for example.

Tempering

The process of heating chocolate slowly, cooling it, then melting it again. This helps to give chocolate its characteristic smooth texture.

Trachoma

A contagious eye disease caused by bacteria. It can lead to blindness if not treated.

Unique selling points (USP)

The characteristics of a product that make it different from other, similar products.

Wholesale

The sale of goods in large quantities, e.g. by a wholesaler to a retailer, who will sell them on in smaller quantities in shops.

Winnow

To blow away (e.g. chaff from grain or cocoa bean shells from cocoa beans).

Workforce

The workers employed by a company or organisation.

World Bank

An international bank that makes loans to developing countries for development programmes.

Yam

A starchy root vegetable, a bit like a sweet potato. It is an important staple food in Africa, Indonesia, the Caribbean, China, Korea and India.