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Glossary of workplace terms

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  • Objectives

    An objective is something to be achieved. Objectives are measurable, shared and agreed project goals. They are directly linked to the concept of "project success factors."

  • Objectives

    Specific short-time tasks that must be completed to achieve the organizational goals.
    UCB

  • Observation Method

    Method of collecting data by observing the actions of potential buyers.
    UCB

  • Official Languages Minority Communities

    Designates Anglophones living in Quebec and Francophones living in provinces and territories outside Quebec.

  • Off-the-Job Training

    Internal and external programs to develop a variety of skills and foster personal development away from the workplace.
    UCB

  • On-the-Job Training

    The employee immediately begins his or her tasks and learns by doing, or watching others for a while and then imitates them.
    UCB

  • Operating Budget

    The plan of the various costs and expenses needed to operate the business, based on estimated annual revenues.
    UCB

  • Operating Expenses

    The various costs incurred in running a business, including rent, salaries, and utilities, in order to earn revenues.
    UCB

  • Oral Communication

    Oral Communication is one of nine Essential Skills. It is the ability to use speech to give and exchange thoughts and information.

  • Organizational Culture

    Widely shared values within an organization, reflected in stories, traditions, and myths, that provide coherence and co-operation to achieve common goals.
    UCB

  • Organization Chart

    A visual picture of an organization that shows who reports to whom.
    UCB

  • Organizing

    Designing the organizational structure, attracting people to the organization (staffing), and creating conditions and systems that ensure that everyone and everything work together to achieve the objectives of the organization.
    UCB

  • Outcomes

    Outcomes are changes, results, impacts or consequences of the project activity – generally focused on people. Outcomes can also be the result of a program or institutional change. Outcomes represent the impact that a project has on people, programs or institutions.

  • Outputs

    Outputs are the direct products of a project.

  • Owners’ Equity

    Investments in the company plus all net accumulated profits.
    UCB

This material is reprinted with permission from the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada; the publication Understanding Canadian Business; and the Canadian Council on Learning.