Business Terms Vocabulary Practice (page 2)

Read the following study guide for a concept review: Business Terms Vocabulary Help

Business Terms Vocabulary Practice

Words in Context

The following exercise will help you figure out the meaning of some words from the vocabulary list by reading context clues. After you have read and understood the paragraph, explain the context clues that helped you with the meaning of the vocabulary word.

When she took the job as the manager of a Wendy's franchise, Sarah quickly learned many things about the business world. On her first day of work, she read the discrimination policy, which stated that Wendy's does not discriminate against race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or people with disabilities when hiring employees. Then she read Wendy's policy on sexual harassment and was glad to see that they were very strict about creating a comfortable working environment for all of the employees. Her boss explained that flirting of any kind was not tolerated at work. Next she was asked to fill out many forms, including a life insurance policy. She had to pick someone to be the beneficiary on the policy in the event of her death, so she picked her son, Michael. After she was done with all of the paperwork, Sarah followed her boss into the back room and he showed her the various systems they used and began to teach her the jargon used in the fast food industry. It was important to understand these terms because many vendors and members of the Wendy's company use this shorthand language. Sarah mentioned that her sister really wanted to work at Wendy's as well, but her boss cautioned her against committing an act of nepotism. He explained that it was important that every potential employee had a fair chance of employment and that, as store manager, it was her responsibility to ensure that she did not give preferential treatment to her family members. At the end of the meeting, her boss told her that as a perquisite in addition to her salary, she and her family were allowed one free meal a week at Wendy's.

TIP

Read a financial periodical to see many of these words in context. Seeing them in context will help you remember their meanings.

Sentence Completion

Insert the correct word from the vocabulary list into the following sentences.

1. Beware of those two; they are always in _____ with each other to sell defective products at a hefty sum.
2. They decided to settle the dispute through _____ because they couldn't agree on anything amongst themselves.
3. I would love to start my own magazine, but I don't know where I am going to get the _____ to fund it.
4. When employees refer to their company's _____ year, they are talking about the 12-month period that the organization plans to use its funds.
5. Some industries have such a unique _____ that it can be difficult for an outsider to understand what people are saying.
6. I was thinking of opening a(n) _____ of my favorite ice cream store, but the parent company's rules and regulations are too strict.
7. I was _____ from taking Spanish 101 in college because I placed out of it with an exam that I took in high school.
8. The _____ of this job are not too great; you have to work here four years before they give you a third week of vacation.
9. Even though he is not a good teacher, he will never be fired because he has _____
10. Now that I own a home, I can take many _____ on my taxes, which means I get to keep more of my income.
11. Before I bought my apartment, I read everything about the building in its _____
12. Because she was wrongfully accused of _____, she didn't lose her job.
13. My daughter is the only _____ to my life insurance policy.
14. This company is guilty of _____; only the president's immediate family holds a supervisory role.
15. The three companies joined together to form a _____, making their presence in the industry even stronger.
16. There is much debate about what to do with Social Security, a(n) _____ that many people depend on upon retirement.
17. As a child, my favorite game was Monoply, so it is no surprise that I ended up working in _____.
18. One thing I can say about the management here is that they treat all employees with _____ , which makes it a very pleasant place to work.
19. The development company depleted the _____ that the city had donated to build a new park, so construction has halted.
20. I can't prove it, but I think I have been a victim of _____; I am almost sure I was let go because I am a woman.

Practice Activities

Find a copy of a work-related memo, letter, or policy and see if the words you have learned in this chapter are used in the piece of writing. See if you can find five more business-related words that you can add to your vocabulary list.

Find an article in the business section of the paper or a magazine dedicated to business and see how many of these words are used in the publication. What are the articles about? Are there other words you can add to your vocabulary list? Try to determine the definition of the new words from the context of the article and then check the definition in your dictionary.

Crossword Puzzle

Choose the word from the vocabulary list that best fits into the crossword puzzle. You can check your answers at the end of the chapter following the answers to the questions.

Answers

Words in Context

The first word we encounter is franchise, and we know from the context that it must be a Wendy's restaurant, so franchise could refer to the individual store or restaurant in a chain. Sarah reads the discrimination policy, which explains that Wendy's does not discriminate against people in their hiring practices, so discrimination must mean judging or treating someone differently. The sexual harassment policy does not allow flirting at work, so harassment must mean bothering someone or pressuring someone. Sarah makes her son the beneficiary of her life insurance policy, so we can conclude that her son will receive the money, or be the one to benefit from the policy if Sarah were to pass away. Her boss teaches her the jargon of the industry because she must know the terms used in the fast-food industry, so jargon must mean language used in a particular industry. Sarah is cautioned against an act of nepotism and in the next sentence, we can deduce that nepotism must mean giving your family preferential treatment. Finally, we see the word perquisite used to explain an extra benefit Sarah receives in addition to her salary.

Sentence Completion

1. collusion. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
2. arbitration. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
3. capital. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
4. fiscal. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
5. jargon. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
6. franchise. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
7. exempt. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
8. perquisites. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
9. tenure. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
10. deductions. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
11. prospectus. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
12. harassment. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
13. beneficiary. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
14. nepotism. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
15. consortium. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
16. entitlement. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
17. arbitrage. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
18. equity. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
19. subsidy. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
20. discrimination. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.

Synonyms

21. c. addition. Deduction means the act of subtracting; since c is addition, it is not a synonym.
22. d. punishment. Perquisite means a bonus or privilege given in addition to salary; since punishment means a penalty, it is not a synonym.
23. a. termination of employment. Tenure means the state of holding a particular job or the guarantee of employment. Termination of employment is not a synonym because it means the end of one's employment.
24. b. force. Exempt means to be excused from some rule or job; because force means to make someone do something, it is not a synonym.
25. d. special privilege. Equity means fairness or evenness of treatment, or the value of property after all claims have been have been made against it. Special privilege is not a synonym because it is not an even or fair arrangement. If you got this one wrong, you may have confused equity with entitlement.
26. a. one who gives. Beneficiary means one who will benefit from receiving something. Because one who gives is a person who gives something, it is not a synonym.
27. a. penalty. Entitlement is a special privilege or benefit, so penalty is not a synonym.
28. d. fair. Discrimination means the act of making distinctions and it is often used to refer to making distinctions between different groups of people in an unfair way. Because fair means even or just, it is not a synonym.
29. a. tax. Subsidy means a grant of money for a particular purpose. Tax is money paid to the government by citizens, so it is not a synonym.
30. d. franchise. Fiscal means pertaining to money or finance. Because franchise means a business owned by a parent company but run independently, it is not a synonym.

Antonyms

31. deduction. Deduction means the subtraction of cost from income, the opposite of the words in the group.
32. equity. Equity means fairness or evenness of treatment, the opposite of the words in the group.
33. beneficiary. A beneficiary is one who will benefit from something, the opposite of the words in the group.
34. capital. Capital means accumulated wealth used to earn more money, the opposite of the words in the group.
35. exempt. Exempt means excused from a duty or job, the opposite of the words in the group.
36. discrimination. Discrimination means the act of making distinctions in treatment of people, the opposite of the words in the group.
37. harassment. Harassment means to harass or bother someone persistently in a threatening way, the opposite of the words in the group.
38. tenure. Tenure means a period of holding a job or a guarantee of employment, the opposite of the words in the group.
39. consortium. Consortium means a joining together of two or more businesses for a specific purpose, the opposite of the words in the group.
40. jargon. Jargon means the language used in a particular industry, the opposite of the words in the group.

Matching Questions

41. h
42. m
43. g
44. e
45. l
46. r
47. q
48. s
49. t
50. f
51. c
52. p
53. a
54. o
55. j
56. i
57. d
58. b
59. k
60. n

Crossword Puzzle Solution