Business Terms

objective: an end toward which effort is directed and on which resources are focused, usually to achieve an organization's strategy.

obsolescence: the decline of products in a market due to the introduction of better competitor products or rapid technology developments.

open-end credit: a form of credit that does not have an upper limit on the amount that can be borrowed or a time limit before repayment is due.

open market: a market that is widely available.

operating cash flow: the amount used to represent the money moving through a company as a result of its operations, as distinct from its purely financial transactions.

operating costs: Expenditures arising out of current business activities. The costs incurred to do business such as salaries, electricity, rental. Also may be called "overhead."

optimize: to allocate such things as resources or capital as efficiently as possible.

option: a contract for the right to buy or sell an asset, typically a commodity, under certain terms.

order: a contract made between a customer and a supplier for the supply of a range of goods or services in a determined quantity and quality, at an agreed price, and for delivery at or by a specified time.

organizational market: A marketplace made up of producers, trade industries, governments and institutions.

outsourcing: Term used in business to identify the process of sub-contracting work to outside vendors. The transfer of the provision of services previously carried out by in-house personnel to an external organization, usually under a contract with agreed standards, costs, and conditions.

overdraft: the amount by which the money withdrawn from a bank account exceeds the balance of the account.

overdraft facility: a credit arrangement with a bank, allowing a person or company with an account to use borrowed money up to an agreed limit when nothing is left in the account.

overdrawn: in debt to a bank because the amount withdrawn from an account exceeds its balance.

outsourcing: Term used in business to identify the process of sub-contracting work to outside vendors

overhead: A general term for costs of materials and services not directly adding to or readily identifiable with the product or service being sold.

Overprice: to set the price of a product or service too high, with the result that it is unacceptable to the market.