Glossary - Agribusiness Management - page 441

seasonal inventories See anticipation inventories .
seasonality The characteristic of many agricultural goods which can only be produced one
time per year, during that product's growing season; also a characteristic of consump-
tion of some goods where use ebbs and fl ows in a regular pattern across a year.
s ecret partner A partner that takes an active role in managing the partnership but is not
known to be a partner by the general public.
self-actualization A component of Maslow's need hierarchy; the highest level of need,
and one that becomes important only when all lower-level needs have been relatively
well satisfi ed; the feeling of self-worth or personal accomplishment.
selling The process by which people in one company help match the value of the products,
services and information their company offers to the needs of targeted customers; the
process of helping people buy and the process of creating a mutually benefi cial relation-
ship between the fi rm and the customer.
semi variable cost A cost that is partly fi xed and partly variable.
s enior partner A partner which has an investment in the fi rm, has major responsibilities
for management of the organization, and receives the major portion of partnership prof-
its; typically an individual that helped form the partnership or one who has seniority in
the business.
short-term budget A budget that generally covers a time period of one year or less.
short-term loan A temporary grant of money to be paid back in one year or less; may be
a note with regular terms, or a revolving or line-of-credit loan.
silent partner A partner who has restricted management rights and responsibilities and
limited liability for the organization's actions.
simple interest rate The type of interest charge used on many personal loans; involves a
rate of interest applied to an amount available for the entire period of the loan; the
amount of interest paid divided by the amount of available capital.
simple rate of return A commonly used ratio for capital investment analysis; the profi t
generated by an investment expressed as a percentage of the investment.
simulation A systematic approach to problem solving that usually involves
evaluation of several possibilities (sometimes thousands) derived from a model based
on past operating experience and records; used to project the probability of different
outcomes.
skimming the market A pricing method where a product is introduced at a high price that
affl uent or highly interested customers can afford, then the price is gradually lowered
over time to bring less affl uent and less interested customers into the market.
sole proprietorship A form of business owned and controlled by one person.
solvency The fi rm's ability to meet long-term fi nancial obligations.
solvency ratio A solvency ratio that shows the relationship between what the owners are
contributing toward supporting the fi rm and the total assets of the fi rm; calculated by
dividing total assets into owner's equity.
solvency ratios A class of fi nancial ratios that measure a fi rm's ability to meet long-term
fi nancial obligations.
span-of-control principle In organizational structure, the concept that there is a limit to
the number of people who can be supervised effectively by one individual.
statement of owner's equity A fi nancial statement that details the changes in the owner's
equity accounts from one operating period to the next.
status The social rank or position of a person in a group.

stock Units of ownership in a corporation.