Social Accountability 8000
A workplace standard and verification system, created by the human rights organization Social Accountability International (SAI), for assuring just and decent working conditions throughout a supply chain. More information: www.sa-intl.org
Service Economy
An economy which places increased value on delivery and receipt of services for economic benefit and growth than the acquisition and consumption of products and materials. This shift away from an economy of products can place greater emphasis on relationships and can promote resource productivity (if the service provider maintains responsibility for the means of […]
Service Ecology
A system of interactions and actors that, together, create a sustainable and successful service or experience. Service Ecologies often include several companies or organizations that specialize in delivering one part of the total service. These may or may not be distinct to the user of the service. Successful Service Ecologies must realistically allow each company […]
Self-Regulating System
A complex system that regulates it’s own performance by so that it never gets too far off-balance and can bring itself back into homeostasis.
Market Segmentation
A business process focused on defining market segments on the basis of customer demographic or psychographic attributes (such as age, location, culture, etc.). Segmentation is best when it uses the same understandings gained from market and user research used in Environmental Modeling and Positioning. Distinct market segments identify customers who require different products and services […]
Scenario Planning
Scenario planning is a common technique used in government, academia, and businesses in a variety of industries to identify new opportunities. Scenario planning is a special kind of brainstorming that structures assumptions and a perspective of the future (the scenario) so that a group of people can imagine, in detail, how that future might affect […]
Sensitivity Analysis
A procedure in budgeting that uses incremental adjustments to parameters (such as price and sales) to test the effects on growth or company performance. Sensitivity analysis can help companies determine which parameters have the most effect on revenues. Though useful, sensitivity analysis is sometimes criticized because it deals with only parameter of change at a […]
Sarbanes-Oxley
The common term for the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. This set of laws significantly changed accounting and audit standards for public companies in order to improve the accuracy of financial disclosures and protect investors from corporate fraud. The act has significantly increased accounting and audit costs for companies but […]
Reverse Logistics
The process of collecting used products and materials from customers to be reused, recycled, or upcycled into other products. This process treats these materials as valuable industrial nutrients instead of disposed of as trash. This is the complement to the traditional supply chain and distribution system used to produce and deliver products to customers.
ROE (Return on Equity)
The amount of profit generated by an organization compared with the amount of money invested by shareholders. ROE is useful for comparing company profitability with others in the same industry. ROE = net income / average shareholder equity
