The Daily Official List - The daily record setting out the prices of shares
that are traded on a stock exchange.
Damage
Limitation - The process of trying to limit or curtail the amount
of damage or loss caused by a particular situation or event.
Dark Net - A term for online private websites and networks concealed from
and inaccessible to unauthorised users in which materials are shared, normally
illegally and anonymously.
Dark
Store - A retail store adapted or designed for the main or
whole purpose of fulfilling online orders. Customers generally do not visit
'dark stores', except where policy/processes allow the collection of
pre-ordered goods. The 'dark store' feature of retailing began to emerge
seriously in the early 2000s, in which an existing retail store or a
purpose-built facility - notably in the supermarkets sector - would be
adapted/designed chiefly or entirely for distributing orders placed online,
i.e., website sales. Dark stores typically contain similar
warehousing/shelving/aisles arrangements to conventional retail stores, but
store staff physically pick the products, rather than customers. Orders are
then delivered to customers, or (subject to the policy if the retailer) may be
collected. It is easy to foresee a time when generally the product picking and
packaging for delivery/collection is automated. The word 'dark' in this context
alludes to the notion of a store not requiring the bright environment and
highly visible presence and that we normally associate with traditional
retailing. The word also alludes to the fact that much of the activity in dark
stores can happen at night. This terminology and retailing strategy reflects a
substantial fundamental shift in society, far beyond the logistics of shopping.
Dark stores signify a dramatic reorganization of the 'developed world', by
which the nature of consumer and commercial consumption, and the uses of
buildings and entire commercial/retail development sites, are becoming very
different, with many big implications for societies, infrastructures, and how
people live within and relate to them. Incidentally the word fulfillment may
instead be spelled fulfilment, although the former is more common. (I'm keen to
clarify the precise origin of the 'dark store' term. If you know please contact me.)
Daughter
Company - A company that is controlled partly or completely by
a holding or parent company.
Dawn Raid -
A sudden planned purchase of a large number of a company's shares at the
beginning of a days trading on the stock exchange.
Day Player -
In the entertainment industry, actors, etc., who are hired by the day.
Deadbeat -
A person or company who tries to avoid paying their debts.
Dead Cat Bounce -
A derogatory term used on the stock exchange to describe a huge decline in the
value of a stock, usually a share, which is immediately followed by a temporary
rise in price before continuing to fall. From: "Even a dead cat will
bounce if it falls from a great height".
Dear Money -
Also known as Tight Money. When money is difficult to borrow, and if a loan is
secured then it would be paid back at a very high rate of interest.
Debenture -
Unsecured certified loan over a long period of time with a fixed rate, based on
the trust that payment will be made in the future.
Debriefing - A meeting or interview in which a person or group of
people report about a task or mission just completed or attempted.
Debt -
Money owed to another person or organisation, such as a loan, mortgage, etc.,
which is required to be paid back, usually with interest.
Debt-Equity Swap -
An arrangement between a lender and a debtor, usually a company, in which the
lender agrees to reduce the debt in exchange for newly issued shares from the
borrower.
Debt Exposure -
Money that a lender risks losing if the borrower fails to pay it back.
Decertification - In employment this refers specifically to action
taken by workers to disassociate themselves from a trade union which previously
represented them. Aside from this the general meaning refers to withdrawal of
certification of one sort or another.
Decision ConsequenceAnalysis - A process for helping decision makers, usually in
the pharmaceutical and petroleum exploration industries, decide where resources
such as time, money, etc., should be invested.
Decision Tree -
A diagram which starts with an initial decision, and possible strategies and
actions are represented by branches which lead to the final outcome decided
upon.
Deed Of Partnership -
A legal document which sets out how a partnership is to be run, and also the
rights of the partners. A Deed Of Partnership is not compulsory but it helps to
avoid any misunderstandings or disputes in the future.
Deep Throat -
In business, an anonymous source of top secret information. First used in this
sense in the reporting of the US Watergate scandal.
Deep Web -
Also known as the Invisible Web, said to contain about 500 times more
information than the generally accessible world-wide web, the Deep Web comprises
data held by secure organizations, for example military and government.
De Facto -
Latin - Existing in reality or fact, with or without legal right.
Defence Document -
A document that a company's shareholders receive which explains why an offer to
buy the company should be rejected.
Deficit Financing -
When a government borrows money because of a shortage of funds from taxes. This
usually results in pushing up interest rates.
Deflation -
Economic decline typified by falling costs of goods and services; falling
levels of employment; limited money supply or credit; reduced imports; lower
wage increases, often caused by lower personal spending or investment, and/or a
reduction in government spending. Deflation is broadly the opposite of
inflation.
Delegation - An assignment of responsibility or task, usually by
a manager to a subordinate. See delegation.
Separately a delegation refers to a deputation, being a group of people
appointed or responsible for representing a nation or corporation or other
organization to attend talsk or negotiations, etc.
Deleveraging -
An attempt by a company to reduce its debts, for example by selling off assets,
laying off staff, etc.
Demerit Goods - Products or services such as as alcohol, gambling,
drugs, prostitution, etc., which are considered unhealthy or undesirable, and
are often subject to extra taxes in order to reduce consumption and potentially
to fund remedial actions in response to consumption. See Sin Tax.
Democracy -
Majority rule, by which the biggest proportion of members of a group determine
decisions for the whole group. Democracy typically refers to a country's
political system, in which government is elected through majority vote.
Demographic Profile -
Used in marketing to describe a particular segment of the population, for
example social class, age, gender, income, etc.
Demographic Segmentation - The process of identifying and dividing consumers
into groups according to their race, age, gender, religion, etc.
Demonetize -
To officially decide that a particular coin or banknote can no longer be used
as currency.
Deposition - A sworn statement of evidence by a witness taken
outside of the court proceedings before a trial.
Depression - A prolonged and very deep economic recession, in a country or wider
region. Definitions of an economic depression vary greatly, from two to ten
years or more, characterized by extremely deep levels of negative indicators
such as unemployment, credit and money supply, living standards, and reduced
GDP, etc. Historians and economic commentators commonly disagree about the
duration of depressions due to the confused methods of defining precisely what
a depression is.
Deregulate -
The reduction or removal of government regulations from an industry or
business.
Derived Demand - Demand for a service or goods which is created by
the demand for another service or goods, such as the demand for steel to make
cars.
Desk Jockey -
An informal term for someone who spends their working day sitting behind a
desk, and who is concerned about administration.
Desktop Publishing -
Producing printed documents, magazines, books, etc., using a small computer and
printer.
Didactic -
Describes works of literature or art which are intended to be be informative or
instructional, especially morally, rather than entertaining. From the ancient
Greek word didaskein, which means to teach.
Digerati -
People who consider themselves to be experts of the Internet and computer
industry.
Digital Wallet -
Computer software used to store a persons bank account details, name, address,
etc., to enable them to make automatic payments when they are making purchases
on the Internet.
Direct Marketing -
The marketing of products, services, etc., directly to individual potential
customers by sending them catalogues, leaflets, brochures, etc., by mail
(including e-mail), calling them on the telephone or calling door-to-door.
Director -
A person appointed to oversee and run a company or organisation along with
other directors, In the entertainment industry, the person who directs the
making of a film, TV program, etc.
Directives - At an official level, directives are instructions,
guidelines or orders issued by a governing or regulatory body. They may amount
to law. In a less formal way a directive equates to an instruction issued by an
executive or manager or organizational department.
Direct Overhead -
A portion of the overheads, e.g. lighting, rent, etc., directly associated with
the production of goods and services.
Dirty Money -
Money made from illegal activities which needs 'laundering' so that it appears
to be legitimate.
Disability Discrimination Act - An Act of Parliament passed in Britain in 1995 which
promotes the civil rights of disabled people and protects them from
discrimination in employment, education, renting property, access to transport,
etc.
Disburse -
To pay out money from a large fund, e.g. a treasury or public fund.
Discount Loan -
A loan on which the finance charges and interest is paid before the borrower
receives the money.
Discount Window -
In the US, when banks can borrow money from the Federal Reserve at low interest
rates.
Discretionary Income - The amount of income a person is left with after
taxes and living essentials, such as food, housing, etc., have been deducted.
Discretionary Order -
Permits a broker to buy or sell shares on behalf of an investor in order
to get the best price.
Discriminating Duty -
A variable tax levied on goods depending from which country they were imported.
Dispatch Note -
Also called Dispatch Advice. A document giving details of goods which have been
dispatched or are ready to be dispatched to a customer.
Distributable Profit - A company's profits which are available for
distribution among shareholders at the end of an accounting period.
Distributer -
An individual or company who buys products, usually from manufacturers, and
resells them to retail outlets or direct to customers. A wholesaler.
Diversion/Product Diversion - In marketing and business 'diversion' refers to the
unofficial distribution/availability of branded consumer products. In other
words this is the supply of branded products through unautorized stockists or
retailers or other suppliers, notably via the web. Diversion does not refer to
pirated or counterfeit or 'fake' goods. Diversion refers to official goods
being sold through unofficial channels. Also called a 'grey market'.
Diversification - The act or strategy of growing a business/brand by
developing its range of products, services, investments, etc., into new market
sectors, horizontally or vertically.
The term diversification is not generally used in referring to the development
of new greographical markets. The vastly diversified Virgin business and brand
is a good example of diversification, from from its music mail-order origins in
the 1970s, into recording, aviation, rail, holidays/hotels, health clubs,
internet/broadband, communications/telephony, TV, radio, books/publishing,
events/festivals, banking, insurance, charity, cola, bridal services, condoms,
etc. Diversification may make use of an existing brandname (Virgin is a good
example of this), or new brandnames, and may entail various business
structures, including acquistion. Partnering and joint-ventures are common
structural approaches to diversification (so as to work with people/businesses
who have existing market presence/expertise). Much simpler examples of
diversification are: a butcher's shop which starts a hog-roast service; a
bakers shop which opens a cafe; a builder who starts a property development
business. Diversification strategies, especially of large scale, typically
involve considerable risk and investment because by implication the
organization is seeking to become successful in a new unfamiliar field. Risk
affects the existing business as well as the new one, in terms of finances,
resources, time-management, and brand/reputation, particularly where branding
is similar between existing and new activities, all of which are often overlooked.
Failures are often characterized by under-funding, poor-planning, inadequate
resourcing, and over-optimism/arrogance of leaders, believing that success or
dominance in one sector will automatically enable easy success in a new sector;
a dangerously faulty assumption.
Diversity -
In the context of work/organizations, diversity is a business/employment term
originating in the late 1900s, referring to the quality of a workforce (and
potentially a group of users/customers or audience) as defined by its mixture
of people according to ethnicity, race, religion, disability, gender,
sexuality, age, etc. The use of the term diversity assumes that an equal
non-discriminatory approach to employment produces positive effects, for staff,
working environment, society, etc., and is an extremely healthy and ethical
principle. As such the term 'diversity' has become a strongly symbolic
principle, rather like other big progressive movements in organizational and
societal/economic thinking such as 'green', 'sustainability', 'ethics',
'governance', etc.
Divest/Divestment - In business, divest/divestment refers to a
corporation selling subsidiary interests, especially a subsidiary company. (The
term derives originally from a more literal meaning of taking power of rights
from someone or a body - from the original French desvestir, meaining literally
removal of a person's vest or garment.)
Dividend -
A portion of profits paid by a company to its shareholders. Shareholders of
commercial private and public limited companies generally receive a
return/profit from their investment in two ways: firstly the increasing value
of the business is reflected in an increasing value of the shares held;
secondly the value of a dividend paid (typically annually), based on a
per-share rate, normally determined by the board of directors, which represents
a proportion of the profit made by the business for the year. For smaller
owner-managed and family businesses a dividend usually offers a more
tax-efficient way to extract profit from a business by its owners, compared to
salaries/bonuses subject to high personal taxation rates. For larger
corporations, especially big public corporations providing essential services
such as utilities, transport, communications, etc., shareholder dividends can
be highly controversial, because dividends are paid from profits of a which a
portion must also be reinvested in the business for improvements, efficiences,
growth, future liabilities, etc., and which also customers can argue could be
used to contain or reduce prices. Within modern free market economics,
shareholder dividends are a major and neglected aspect of the psychological contract.
Docking Station -
A device to which a notebook computer or a laptop can be connected so it can
serve as a desktop computer.
Document Sharing -
Used in video-conferencing. A system which allows people in different places to
view and edit the same document at the same time on their computers.
Dog -
An informal slang term for an investment which has shown a poor performance.
The slang term dog may also refer to other poor-performing elements within a
business, for example a product or service within a company range, as in the
widely used 'Boston Matrix'.
Dollar-Cost Averaging - Known in the UK as Pound-Cost Averaging. The
practice of investing a fixed amount of money at fixed times in particular
shares, whatever their price. A higher share price means less shares are
purchased and a lower share price means more shares can be purchased.
Dolly -
In the entertainment industry, a piece of equipment on wheels which allows the
camera to move smoothly for long walking shots.
Dotcom -
an internet business, or the internet business sector.
Double -
In the film and TV industry, a person who stands in, or is substituted, for a
principal actor.
Double-Blind -
A method of testing a new product, usually medicine, in which neither the
people trying the product nor those administering the treatment know who is
testing the real product and who has been given a placebo containing none of
the product.
Double-dip Recession - A recession during which there is a brief period
of economic growth, followed by a slide back into recession, before final
recovery. Also called a W-shaped recession. See recession shapes.
Double-dipping - The practice, usually regarded as unethical, of
receiving two incomes or benefits from the same source, for example receiving a
pension and consultancy income from the same employer.
Double-Entry Bookkeeping - An accounting method which results in balanced
ledgers, i.e., for every transaction a credit is recorded in one account and a
debit is recorded in another.
Double Indemnity -
A clause in a life insurance policy where the insurance company agrees to pay
double the face value of the policy in the event of accidental death.
Doula -
A birthing or labour coach, from the greek word doule, meaning female slave.
Drayage -
The fee charged for, or the process of, transporting goods by lorry or truck.
Drip Advertising -
An advertising campaign in small amounts over a long period of time to ensure
that the public is continually aware of a product or service.
Drum-Buffer-Rope -
A method, usually in manufacturing, which ensures an efficient flow of work in
a production process by taking into consideration any possible delays or
problems which may occur.
Duopoly -
Two companies, or a situation, in which both companies control a particular
industry.
Dutch Auction -
A type of auction which opens with a high asking price which is then lowered
until someone accepts the auctioneers price, or until the sellers reserve price
has been reached.
Dysphemism -
The substitution of a neutral or positive word/phrase with a replacement
word/phrase that has a more negative/pesimistic effect. The opposite or inverse
of a dysphemism is euphemism. Both are widely used in press and public
relations communications. Extreme examples are unethical at best, and
criminally dishonest at worst.
Dystopia -
The opposite of Utopia, a society in which conditions are characterised by
human misery, depirvation, squalor, disease, etc. The term is said to have been
coined by by John Stuart Mill in 1868 in a UK House of Commons speech
criticizing the government's Irish land policy.
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