Highly liquid assets which are not cash but can easily be converted into cash, such as bank deposits and Treasury Bills. similar to cash equivalents.

An illegal action performed by a group of conspiring businesses that occurs when the firms agree to artificially inflate prices in an attempt to recognize higher profits at the expense of the consumer. Price rigging can be found in any industry and is regulated by the antitrust division of the United States Department of Justice.

The Bank for International Settlements  was founded in 1930 as a clearinghouse for German war reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The original members were Germany, Belgium, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and Switzerland. Reparations were discontinued shortly after the bank's founding, and the BIS became a forum for cooperation and a counterparty for transactions among central banks.

Features of Management:

1. Management is goal oriented process:

Management always aims at achieving the organisational objectives. The functions and activities of manager lead to the achievement of organisational objectives; for example, if the objective of a company is to sell 1000 computers then manager will plan the course of action, motivate all the employees and organise all the resources keeping in mind the main target of selling 1000 computers.

2. Management is Pervasive:

Management is a universal phenomenon. The use of management is not restricted to business firms only it is applicable in profit-making, non-profit-making, business or non-business organisations; even a hospital, school, club and house has to be managed properly. Concept of management is used in the whole world whether it is USA, UK or India.

3. Management is Multidimensional: Management does not mean one single activity but it includes three main activities:

i. Management of work

ii. Management of people

iii. Management of operations

(a) Management of work:

All organisations are set up to perform some task or goal. Management activities aim at achieving goals or tasks to be accomplished. The task or work depends upon the nature of Business for example, work to be accomplished in a school is providing education, in hospital is to treat patient, in industry to manufacture some product. Management makes sure that work is accomplished effectively and efficiently.

(b) Management of people:

People refer to Human resources and Human resources are the most important assets of an organisation. An organisation can win over competitor with efficient employees only because two organisations can have same physical, technological and financial resources but not human resources. Management has to get task accomplished through people only.

Managing people has two dimensions:

(i) Taking care of employee’s individual needs

(ii) Taking care of group of people

(c) Management of operations:

Operations refer to activities of production cycle such as buying inputs, converting them into semi-finished goods, finished goods. Management of operations concentrates on mixing management of work with management of people, i.e., deciding what work has to be done, how it has to be done and who will do it.

4. Management is a continuous process:

Management is a continuous or never ending function. All the functions of management are performed continuously, for example planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling are performed by all the managers all the time. Sometimes, they are doing planning, then staffing or organising etc. Managers perform ongoing series of functions continuously in the organisation.

5. Management is a group activity:

Management always refers to a group of people involved in managerial activities. The management functions cannot be performed in isolation. Each individual performs his/her role at his/her status and department, and then only management function can be executed. Even the result of management affects every individual and every department of the organisation so it always refers to a group effort and not the individual effort of one person.

6. Management is a dynamic function:

Management has to make changes in goal, objectives and other activities according to changes taking place in the environment. The external environment such as social, economical, technical and political environment has great influence over the management.

As changes take place in these environments, same are implemented in organisation to survive in the competitive world.

7. Intangible:

Management function cannot be physically seen but its presence can be felt. The presence of management can be felt by seeing the orderliness and coordination in the working environment. It is easier to feel the presence of mismanagement as it leads to chaos and confusion in the organisation. For example, if the inventory of finished products is increasing day by day it clearly indicates mismanagement of marketing and sales.

8. Composite process:

Management consists of series of functions which must be performed in a proper sequence. These functions are not independent of each other. They are inter-dependent on each other. As the main functions of management are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling; organising cannot be done without doing planning, similarly, directing function cannot be executed without staffing and planning and it is difficult to control the activities of employees without knowing the plan. All the functions inter-dependent on each other that is why management is considered as a composite process of all these functions.

9. Balancing effectiveness and efficiency:

Effectiveness means achieving targets and objectives on time. Efficiency refers to optimum or best utilisation of resources. Managements always try to balance both and get the work done successfully. Only effectiveness and only efficiency is not enough for an organisation: a balance must be created in both.

For example, if the target of an employee is to produce 100 units in one month time and achieving the target by wasting resources and mishandling the machinery, will not be in the interest of organisation. On the other hand, if the employee spends lot of time in handling the machine carefully and managing the resources carefully and fails to complete the target on time, it will also not be in the interest of organisation. Manager sees to it that this target is achieved on time-and with optimum use of resources.

An offering in marketing is the total offer to your customers. An offering is more than the product itself and includes elements that represent additional value to your customers, such as availability, convenient delivery, technical support or quality of service. A strong offering differentiates your products from competitors and creates value by meeting customers’ wider needs better than other options.

Economies of scale is an economics term that describes a <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-competitive-advantage-3-strategies-that-work-3305828">competitive advantage</a> that large entities have over smaller entities. It means that the larger the business, non-profit or government, the lower its costs. For example, the cost of producing one unit is less when many units are produced at once.

Types of Economies of Scale

There are two main types of economies of scale: internal and external. Internal economies are, as the name implies, internal to the company itself and controllable by management. External economies are supported by external factors. These factors include the industry, geographic location, or government.

Internal Economies of Scale

Internal economies result from the sheer size of the company, no matter what industry it's in or market it sells to. For example, large companies have the ability to buy in bulk. This lowers the cost per unit of the materials they need to make their products. They can use the savings to increase profits. Or, they can pass the savings to consumers and compete on price. There are five main types of internal economies of scale.

• Technical economies of scale result from efficiencies in the production process itself. Research shows that manufacturing costs can fall 70-90 percent every time the business doubles its output. Larger companies can take advantage of more efficient equipment. An example is sophisticated data mining software that allows the firm to target its customers more effectively. Large shipping companies can cut costs by using super-tankers, such as the post-Panamax ships that carry as many as 16 trains. Finally, large companies achieve technical economies of scale because they learn by doing. They’re far ahead of their smaller competition on the learning curve.
• Monopsony power is when a company buys so much of a product that it can negotiate a lower price than its smaller competitors. For example, Wal-Mart can have lower prices because its huge buying power gives it monopsony economies of scale.
• Managerial economies of scale arise when firms can hire specialists to manage specific areas of the company. An example is a seasoned sales executive.
• Financial economies of scale means the company has cheaper access to capital. A larger company can get funded from the stock market with an initial public offering. Big firms usually have higher credit ratings, meaning they get lower interest rates on their bonds.
• Network economies of scale occur primarily in online businesses. It costs almost nothing to support each additional customer with existing infrastructure. So, any revenue from the new customer is all profit for the business. A great example is eBay. 

External Economies of Scale

A company has external economies of scale if it receives preferential treatment from the government or other external sources simply because of its size. For example, most states will lower taxes to attract large companies since they will provide jobs for their residents. A large real estate developer can often convince a city to build roads and other infrastructure. This saves the developer from paying those costs. Large companies can also take advantage of joint research with universities. This lowers their own research expenses.

Small companies just don't have the leverage to take advantage of external economies of scale. But, they can band together and take advantage of geographic economies of scale by clustering similar businesses in a small area. For example, artist lofts, galleries and restaurants in a downtown art district benefit from being near each other.

Diseconomies of Scale

Sometimes a company can grow so large chasing economies of scale that size becomes a disadvantage. This is called a diseconomy of scale. For example, it might take longer to make decisions, making the company less flexible. Miscommunication could occur, especially if the company becomes global. Acquiring new companies could result in a clash of corporate cultures. This will slow progress if they don't learn to manage cultural diversity.

How Economies of Scale Applies to You

Think of economies of scale like being able to buy in bulk if you have a larger family. Each box of detergent costs less per wash because you can buy it in bulk. The manufacturer saves on packaging and distribution, so it passes the savings onto you. Bulk is also cheaper for you because you make fewer trips to the store.

Standardization is a framework of agreements to which all relevant parties in an industry or organization must adhere to ensure that all processes associated with the creation of a good or performance of a service are performed within set guidelines. This ensures that the end product has consistent quality and that any conclusions made are comparable with all other equivalent items in the same class.