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ZERO-BASED BUDGETING. A management policy which calls on all programs to justify every aspect of their funding at the start of each year. The idea behind this policy is that nothing is sacred and all expenditures must be continually justified.
“Zero-based budgeting is a means of rooting out waste by challenging each component of overhead on an annual basis.” (D&B Reports, Sept./ Oct., 1991, p.48)
ZERO-COUPON BONDS. A bond that does not pay periodic interest but instead is sold at a discount from its face value. The value of the bond increases as the bond approaches maturity.
ZERO POPULATION GROWTH (ZPG). When a country’s birth rate equals its death rate. In the 1970s ZPG was a popular political and social goal among environmentalists in the United States.
ZERO-SUM GAME. A management game theory in which advantages to one party are exactly equal to the disadvantages suffered by another. The term was popularized by Lester Thurow’s 1985 book, Zero-sum Solution.
“World trade is not a zero-sum game, but beneficial to all who engage in it. Why else would rational humans do it, and why else would the history of world economic development be told in terms of the search by traders and investors for new opportunities?” (Wall Street Journal,
ZILCH. Zero, nothing.
“Ms. Burzynski, who has a calm, maternal demeanor herself, knew zilch about technology. ‘My strength is building organizations,’ she says. She expanded Molly Maids by focusing on front-line workers, giving health benefits and providing English classes to improve retention.” (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 3, 2004, p. B7)
ZILLION. A zillion is an exceedingly large, indeterminate number. See also JILLION.
“The idea that there are zillions of Chinese eagerly rushing out to buy anything from an offshore company at fat profits is pure bunk.” (Forbes, Jan. 31, 1994, p. 140)
ZINGER. A quick and sharp response or retort.
“One of the mean jokes circulating at the outset of the presidential election presidents of tiny countries because he has hit up all of them for contributions to the Democratic National Committee. This little zinger makes it clear that Mr. Gore is vulnerable to charges of past campaign law abuses, but conveys something else as well: Foreign policy will be an election issue in 2000.” (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 23, 1999, p. 23)
ZIP. Zero. See also ZILCH.
ZOMBIE BONDS/BORROWERS. Bonds that were thought to be valueless (dead) for which trading resumes. The term was first attributed to traders at Goldman Sachs, a large New York investment company.
“Japan’s third-largest retailer, which overexpanded in the go-go 1980s, the company has long been considered an indicator of how serious the nation’s banks are about dealing with what are known here as ‘zombie’ borrowers. At the urging of a protective government, banks kept Daiei on life support for years.” (Wall Street Journal, August 11, 2004, p. C1)
ZOMP. Nickname used by insurance companies for zero money down and deferred monthly payments.