New to business or thinking about an MBA? This A–Z glossary explains key terms in leadership, strategy, and management to help you build confidence and prepare for your MBA journey.
Whether you're just starting to explore leadership or want to know what studying for an MBA involves, it's helpful to understand the language of business.
Terms like "agile transformation" and "stakeholder management" might sound complex at first, but learning what they mean is an important step toward becoming a confident and effective leader.
Our Global MBA course demystifies the complex world of business and equips you with the skills to lead, adapt, and thrive across industries. A strong foundation in the key terminology is the first step in that journey.
Here’s your A–Z glossary of the business, leadership, and strategy terms that every future MBA student should know.
Agile: A flexible, iterative approach to project management and product development. Commonly used in tech but increasingly adopted in other business functions.
Analytics: The discovery and interpretation of meaningful patterns in data to support decision-making.
Assets: The resources owned by a business (e.g., cash, equipment, property) that have economic value.Balanced scorecard: A performance measurement framework that includes financial and non-financial metrics.
Benchmarking: Comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices.
Brand equity: The value of a brand in the marketplace, based on consumer perception.Corporate social responsibility (CSR): A business’s responsibility to contribute positively to society and the environment.
Capital: Financial assets or resources a company uses to fund its operations and growth.
Change management: A systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organisation’s goals, processes, or technologies.Digital transformation: Integrating digital technology into all areas of a business to improve operations and deliver more value.
Data-driven decision making: Using analytics and evidence to guide business strategies and actions.
Disruption: Innovations or changes that significantly alter the market landscape.Ethical leadership: Leading people and projects with ethical values such as integrity, transparency and fairness at the heart of your practice.
Entrepreneurship: The process of designing, launching, and running a new business or venture.
Economies of scale: Cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation.Forecasting: Estimating future trends or outcomes based on historical data.
Financial statements: Formal records of a business’s financial activities, including income statements and balance sheets.
Fiduciary duty: The legal obligation of one party to act in the best interest of another.Governance: The system by which companies are directed and controlled.
Globalisation: The growing interaction and influence of people, companies, and governments worldwide.
Gross profit: Revenue minus the cost of goods sold, before deducting other expenses.Human capital: The economic value of an employee’s or workforce’s knowledge and skill set.
Hybrid work: A flexible working model that blends in-office (or on-site) and remote working.
HRM (Human Resource Management): The strategies and processes used by HR teams to manage an organisation’s employees effectively.Innovation: The process of introducing new ideas, methods, or products.
Inclusive leadership: A leadership approach that ensures all voices are heard and valued.
Intellectual property (IP): Intangible assets like patents, trademarks, and copyrights.Just-in-Time (JIT): An inventory management method where materials are received only as they are needed.
Job enrichment: A method of redesigning jobs to make them more engaging or rewarding to employees. This could involve adding more variety to tasks, boosting autonomy, or increasing the level of responsibility.
Joint venture: A business arrangement where two parties agree to develop a new entity and share resources.Key Performance indicators (KPIs): Metrics used to evaluate the success of an activity.
Knowledge management: The process of capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge within an organisation.
Kaizen: A Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement in business processes.Leadership styles: Different approaches to guiding and influencing people (e.g., transformational, transactional, servant).
Lean management: A methodology that focuses on reducing waste while maintaining productivity.
Liquidity: The ability of an asset to be quickly converted into cash.Marketing mix (4 Ps): Product, Price, Place, Promotion – the set of actions to market a product.
Mission statement: A concise explanation of an organisation’s purpose, vision and goals.
Merger: The process of combining two companies into one.Net zero: Achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed.
Negotiation: A dialogue between parties to reach a mutually beneficial outcome.
Niche market: A small, specialised market segment.Organisational culture: The collective values, beliefs, and behaviours that shape how employees behave and how work gets done.
Operations management: Overseeing, designing, and controlling business operations.
Outsourcing: Contracting work to a third party outside the company.PESTLE analysis: A framework for analysing the external factors that impact an organisation: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental.
Profit margin: A measure of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenue.
Project management: The discipline of planning, organising and directing resources, processes and tools to achieve specific project goals.Quality assurance (QA): The process of ensuring that products or services meet established standards.
Quantitative analysis: The analysis of situations or events using mathematical and statistical modelling.
Quick ratio: A financial metric that measures a company’s ability to pay liabilities using its near-cash (or ‘quick’) assets.Risk management: The process of identifying and mitigating potential threats to a business.
Return on investment (ROI): A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment.
Resilience: In business, this refers to an organisation or workforce’s capacity to withstand and recover quickly from difficulties.Stakeholder: Any individual or group affected by the operations of a business.
SWOT analysis: A strategic planning tool that identifies Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Sustainability: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations.Talent management: The process of attracting, developing, and retaining skilled employees.
Transformation leadership: A leadership style focused on inspiring and motivating change in employees through a common vision.
Triple bottom line: A framework that includes social, environmental, and financial performance.Upskilling: The process of learning (or teaching employees) new skills for evolving job roles.
Unicorn: A privately held startup valued at over $1 billion.
User experience (UX): The experience a person has when interacting with a product or service.Value proposition: The promise of value a company delivers to customers.
Vertical integration: A strategy where a company owns its supply chain.
Vision statement: A concise statement that describes what an organisation aspires to achieve long-term.Workforce planning: Ensuring the right people are in the right roles at the right time.
Working capital: The difference between a company’s current assets and current liabilities.
Wellbeing strategy: A set of initiatives that support employee health and happiness.XML (Extensible Markup Language): A format used to structure, store, and transport data.
X-efficiency: The degree of efficiency maintained in a competitive market.
XP (Extreme Programming): A software development methodology focusing on customer satisfaction.Yield: The earnings generated from an investment over a period of time.
Year-end financials: A company’s financial statements for the fiscal year.
YTD (Year to Date): The period from the beginning of the year to the current date.Zero-based budgeting (ZBB): Budgeting from scratch each period, rather than adjusting previous budgets.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD): The range of tasks a learner can perform with guidance. Relevant in leadership and team development.
Are you looking to join the next generation of future-facing business leaders? If so, our Global Online MBA will help you achieve your goals. You’ll become skilled at applying the concepts we’ve defined above in real-world situations. You’ll also learn to lead with purpose, and make ethical, data-informed decisions that create a lasting impact.
Best of all, you can get your degree without putting your career on pause. Since our Global MBA course is delivered 100% online, you can balance your studies with a full-time job and other existing commitments.