Terms to be used in MBA Job Interviews

According to our Placement Cell, most of the companies that have come to our campus for placements have told them that the students are not that good in Technical stuff. In a short span of time we cannot get all the stuff. So, here is a shortcut. Just understand the concepts and meaning of some MBA words. Try to put them up into your sentences. Use them and show them that you are fit for the job. Here is a list that I prepared, with a small number of useful MBA terms.

Note: Red Words are more important.

Advertising

The activity of attracting public attention to a product or business by paid announcements in print broadcast and electronic media.

Ansoff Matrix

A model showing the possible product-market strategies of an organisation; these are considered the main marketing strategies and comprise: market penetration, product development, market development and diversification. The 2 x 2 matrix axes are: new and existing products along one axis and new and existing markets along the other axis.

BCG (Boston Consulting Group) Matrix

Also known as “The Boston Box”. This 2 x 2 matrix is a model to help a firm analyse its product portfolio.

The two axes are relative market share and annual market growth and the four quadrants are:

Dogs - low relative market share and low annual market growth

Stars - high annual market growth and high relative market share

Cash Cows - high relative market share and low annual market growth

Question marks (also known as problem children) - low relative market share and high annual market growth

Behavioural Segmentation

Classifying the market into groups of people according to the similarity in way they behave or interact with a product. This includes identifying those who require the same benefit from a product or service and those who use a product or service in the same way. It is increasingly recognised that this should be the starting point for market segmentation

Channel of Distribution

Channelling goods from their origin to their ultimate destination and involves the use of intermediaries, or middlemen such as wholesalers and retailers. Factors that impact the selection of channels include: the customers, the product, competitors, size and resources, channel power

Cold Calling

This is the process of telephoning or calling at the door of people or companies who have not previously expressed an interest in the product, service or firm

Communication Channel

Elements within the Promotions Mix that an organisation uses to communicate with target audiences

Competitive Advantage

A firm's USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that a firm has to put them in a better position than competitors

Concentrated Strategy

One of three target marketing strategies. It is where the firm targets a niche market with one specific tailored marketing mix.

Benchmarking
A technique that involves comparing one's own processes to excellent examples  of Similar Processes in other organizations or departments. Through benchmarking, rapid learning can occur, and processes can undergo dramatic improvements . A strategic management approach that assess capabilities by comparing the firms, activities or functions with those of other firms.

Heuristic
An idea or method of teaching that stimulates further thinking and discovery.

Job Analysis:
The process of obtaining information about jobs, including the task to be done on the jobs as well as the personal characteristics necessary to do the task.

Target market: The particular segment of a total population on which the retailer focuses its merchandising expertise to satisfy that sub market in order to accomplish its profit objectives. Or for the library, a target market might be within the market area served, children 5-8 years old, for summer reading programs, to increase juvenile use and registration.

Target market identification:  The process of using income, demographic, and life style characteristics of a market and census information for small areas to identify the most favourable locations.

Product life cycle(PLC) :  The four stages products go through from birth to death: introductory, growth, maturity, and decline.

Product Mix: The full set of products offered by an organization

Promotion mix: The various communication techniques such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations/ product publicity available to the marketer to achieve specific goals.

Market Research: The systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data with respect to a particular market, where market refers to a specific user group in a specific geographic area.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The system of rules, practices and processes by which a company is directed and controlled. Corporate governance essentially involves balancing the interests of the many stakeholders in a company - these include its shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community. 

Delphi technique - A frequently used method in futures research to gain consensus opinion among experts about likely future events, through a series of questionnaires.

Internal Customers

Internal customers are employees. All employees should be viewed as customers in several ways: each departments depends on the services of others; a marketing oriented firm needs to put customers first and that has to be “sold” to all staff and, in some firms, products and services, such as printing, are actually sold to other departments.

Marketing Mix

The blend of controllable marketing variables that a firm uses in order to deal with the marketing environment. It is called a “mix” as all elements must work effectively together to reflect a product of firm’s positioning. The mix for products involves four controllable variables, known as 'the 4 Ps': product, place price and promotion; the mix for services, known as „the 7 Ps‟, is the 4Ps plus people, process and 'physical evidence'

Mass Market

A very large segment or wide collection of smaller segments

Mission Statement

A firm‟s business philosophy and direction; it is used to help a firm to develop its long-term plan

New Product Development (NPD)

The development of new products and involves research, development, product testing, test marketing and launch

Niche Market

A small or narrow market segment

Penetration Pricing

A pricing strategy whereby a firm charges a low price in order to increase sales. Demand must be elastic i.e. responsive to changes in price and the price should not harm the image of the brand

PEST
Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological - a way of defining the macro environment and an alternative to SLEPT and PESTLE (see relevant sections)

PESTLE
An alternative way of defining the macroenvironment from PEST and SLEPT (see relevant sections). It stands for: Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal and Environmental

Supply Chain: The chain or network from suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and other intermediaries involved in the production and delivery of a product to the final consumer