Dictionary of Procurement Terms

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Search Results: 1-10 of 30 results for “H”

  • Haggle

    To negotiate a price with a buyer or seller by the gradual raising of offers and lowering of asking prices until a mutually agreeable price is reached. (Business, 2002)

  • Hand-To-Mouth Buying

    Frequent purchases in small quantities to meet only immediate, short-term requirements. (ISM, 2000)

  • Hard Bargaining

    A term used in negotiation strategy. It is the last resort and involves take-it-or-leave-it tactics. Its use is limited to one-time or adversarial situations in which long-term or collaborative relationships are not an objective. (Burt, Dobler, & Starling, 2003)

  • Hard Currency

    Any national currency widely accepted in payment in international markets. Examples: Dollar, Euro, Yen. (Schiller, 2000)

  • Hawthorne Experiments

    A series of studies undertaken at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric in the United States from which Elton Mayo concluded that an approach emphasizing employee participation can improve productivity. They began in 1924 as a study conducted by the National Research Council into the relationship between workplace lighting and employee efficiency that was then extended to include wage incentives and rest periods. (Business, 2002)

  • Hazardous Material (HAZMAT)

    Any material that, under the conditions of transportation or storage, is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property. Includes material classified as explosive, flammable, corrosive, combustible, poisonous, toxic, biological or radiological, and compressed gases. May be referred to as HAZMAT.

    See Also: Waste

  • Hedging (Currency)

    Hedging protects the buyer against major swings in the value of the dollar against foreign currency. The buyer can achieve this via forward or futures contracts or via currency options. The buyer would enter into contracts to sell dollars for foreign currency at the time the supplier is paid. There is a profit or loss on a currency hedge contract that takes place behind the scenes. An important issue for those involved in global selling. (Burt, Dobler, & Starling, 2003)

  • Herzberg, Frederick

    Psychologist who found that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction acted independently of each other. Two Factor Theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. Herzberg divided these into two factor groups: 1. Hygiene factors (dissatisfiers) i.e., working conditions, salary, policies and procedures, etc., and 2. Motivator factors (satisfiers) i.e., recognition, achievement, advancement, job challenge, etc. Herzberg’s factors represent the things people want from their workplace (motivators). He coined the term “job enrichment” to describe the process of redesigning work to build in the motivators needed to keep people interested in their jobs.

    See Also: Hygiene Factors

  • Hierarchy of Interpretation

    Contract rendition and supplementation classified according to rank, capacity, or authority; order is conventionally conceived of as a multi-stage process in which various sources, including express terms, course of performance, course of dealing, trade usages, default rules, and general standards of reasonableness, are sequentially resorted to. The decision maker should not turn to any particular source before exhausting the previous ones, and in case of inconsistency, each source trumps the following ones.

  • Historically Underutilized Business (HUB)

    Generally refers to minority and women-owned, and small businesses.

    See Also: Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE), Small Disadvantaged Business, Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), Economically Disadvantaged Individuals
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