Jargon Buster
A-C
Bitc: Business in the Community
Brand: A name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors. A brand has also been variously described as the promise of an experience and the personality of an organisation (Source:Dictionary of Business and Management).
Broker: An individual or firm which acts as an intermediary between a buyer and seller, usually charging a commission. For securities and most other products, a license is required. In the business world, this might involve the broker charging a fee. In the context of corporate social responsibility, the broker’s role may simply be supporting business-community partnerships. (Source:Investor Worlds)
Cause Related Marketing: Using a good cause to help market a product or service; for example, giving money to charity for each item sold. The charity concerned also expects to benefit from the raised profile associated with the company partnership. (Source:Bitc)
Coaching: Providing guidance, feedback, and direction to ensure successful performance. (Source: QA Project)
Community: A group of individuals (bound by geographic proximity, historical relationship, shared experience or common characteristic) who affect, or are affected by the business operation. (Source:Bitc
Community Trust/Foundation: Community foundations are charities that manage funds donated by individuals and organisations, building endowment, and provide grants to benefit local people. (Source:Community Trust Foundation)
Corporate Responsibility: A term that reflects the changing state of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As CSR appears to promote the social at the expense of the environmental dimension, Corporate Responsibility has emerged as an alternative. (Source:Bitc)
CSV: Community Service Volunteers. Providers of employee volunteering in the UK, helping businesses to get involved in the community. (Source:CSV)
D-F
Employee Volunteering: allowing staff to volunteer for local charitable organisations and may also include one charity’s staff volunteering with another charity. (Source: National Trust)
Environment Agency: Regulatory body for England and Wales
Fair Trade: A movement to help family farmers and small producers in developing countries gain direct access to international markets; a form of subsidy where the consumer pays a premium over the market price that is returned to the producer for social and environmental development. (Source: Bitc)
G-I
HMRC: Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. Formerly known as the Inland Revenue.
Internal Audit: An internal audit function is not a statutory requirement in voluntary organisations as it is in public authorities. However, it is a very useful tool for reviewing, improving and ensuring your organisation has effective internal controls. (Source: NCVO)
J - L
Landfill Site: Sites where local authorities and industry can take waste to be buried and compacted with other wastes. (Source: Environment Agency)
Leitch Review: The Government commissioned the Leitch Review to identify the UK's optimal skills mix in 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice, and to consider the policy implications of achieving the level of change required. (Source: Sector Skills Development Agency)
M - O
Marketplace: An impact area affected by the development, purchasing, selling and marketing of products and services.
Mentor: A person who provides guidance and recommendations to a more junior person for courses of action and behaviour. Peer mentoring may also be practiced by people from different organizations at the same level in the organisational hierarchy.
MOD: Ministry of Defence.
Outcomes: The changes, benefits, learning or other effects that results from what the project or organisation makes, offers or provides. (Source: Charities Evaluation Service)
P - S
Partners: Individuals and/or organisations that choose to work together for perceived mutual benefit. Working arrangements may have varying degrees of formality.
Payroll Giving: Payroll Giving is a unique way for people to give to charity. By having their donations come straight from their gross pay before tax, employees effectively increase the value of their contributions. (Source: HMRC)
Performance Management: Performance Management focuses on planning and forecasting to help with the competent use of business resources and also increasingly used in the voluntary and community sector. (Source: The Financial Director)
Philanthropy: Helping humanity with gifts, wrongly used as a synonym for corporate responsibility. (Source: Bitc) See also Venture Philanthropy.
Policy: A course of action, guiding principle, or procedure considered expedient, prudent, or advantageous. Usually recorded as an organisational document.
Private sector: The private sector of a nation's economy consists of those entities which are not controlled by the state - i.e., a variety of entities such as private firms and companies, corporations, private banks, non-governmental organizations, etc.(Source: Wilkepedia)
Pro Bono: (Latin: "for the good") Used to describe the provision of services free of charge (Source: Munley & Munley)
Procurement: Procurement is the whole process of buying goods and services, from initial advertising through to appropriate contracting arrangements (Source: NCVO)
Productivity: The actual rate of output or production per unit of time worked (Source: Strategic Sourcing)
Public sector: The public sector is that part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, whether national, regional or local/municipal. (Source: Wilkepedia)
Residual Cash Value: Surplus net cash value after expenses.
Risk Assessment: The process of analysing the possibility of risk and likely impact
SME: Small Medium Enterprise employing less than 250 people..
Social Entrepreneurs: A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas business entrepreneurs typically measure performance in profit and return, social entrepreneurs assess their success in terms of the impact they have on society. (Wilkipedia)
Sponsorship: A "long term" advertising relationship that may involve the payment of a fixed fee to display a banner or other graphic on a website, or be included in an email newsletter. Annual Reports and conferences offer other sponsorship opportunities.
Stakeholders: Stakeholders are those who affect, or are affected by, the activities of an organisation. They may include company shareholders, customers, employees, trade unions, business partners, lenders or insurers, investors and analysts, sector or industry experts, government, regulators, host communities, local and international NGOs, the media and suppliers.
Suppliers: Individuals, companies or other organisations which provide goods or services to a recognisable customer or consumer.
Supply Chain: A supply chain, logistics network, or supply network is a coordinated system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service in physical or virtual manner from supplier to customer. (Source: Wilkepedia)
Sustainability: This aligns an organisation's products and services with stakeholder expectations, thereby adding economic, environmental and social value. Sustainability also implies long-term financial viability. Different from sustainable development in an environmental context (Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers)
Sweat Shops: A term usually used to describe a business with bad working conditions, such as low wages, long hours, few safety and health protections, and child labor (Source: Child Labour Coalition)
T - V
Tax Relief: A reduced rate of tax payments compared to the norm. (Source: HM Revenue & Customs)
Unethically: Not behaving in a socially responsible manner
Unique Selling Point: This is something which sets your product or service apart from your competitors' in the eyes and minds of your prospects. (Source: Marketing Magic)
Vision setting: The development of a clear direction for achieving goals and objectives.
Voluntary sector & community sector: The voluntary and community sector is recognised as meaning not for profit organisations run by unpaid management committees who are drawn from the community and users of services acting for community benefit. (Source: SAVO)
Venture Philanthropy: Just as Venture Capitalists take an active approach to funding businesses (investing management time and expertise as well as money) so Venture Philanthropists invest time and skills (perhaps taking a position on the board of trustees) alongside cash to support voluntary and community organisations. (Source: NCVO)
W - Z
WEEE Directive: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. Dictates how equipment should be disposed of when no longer in use.
