In economics, Business
is the social science of managing people to organize and
maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing
particular creative and productive goals, usually to generate
profit. The etymology of "business" refers to
the state of being busy, business motive is earn profit
and give goods and services to the consumers, business
means exchange of money and goods or services.
There are a number of types of business
unit,
Sole Proprietorship: a
business owned by one person. The owner may operate on
their own or may employ others. The owner of the business
has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts
incurred by the business.
Partnership: A partnership
is a form of business in which two or more people operate
for the common goal of making profit. Each partner has
total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred
by the partnership.
Cooperative Business: (often
referred to as a Co-Op business or Co-Ops) use a cooperative
business structure: for-profit, limited liability, but
with members of the co-op share decision-making authority.
Co-Ops normally fall into three types: consumer co-ops,
producer co-ops (common in agriculture) and worker-owned
companies. Co-Ops are fundamental to the ideology of Economic
democracy.
Private Limited Company (Ltd):
a small to medium sized business that is often run by
the family or the small group who own it. The owners and
managers are only liable for the business up to the amount
they have invested in the company, and are not liable
for the debts incurred by the company unless they have
signed a personal guarantee.
Public Limited Company (Plc):
a business with limited liability, a wide spread of shareholders
and in the UK, a share capital of over £50,000.
The owners and managers are only liable for the business
up to the amount they have invested in the company, and
are not liable for the debts incurred by the company (unless
they have signed a personal guarantee, which usually is
not the case for a large corporation).In the United States
and some other countries, a limited company is known as
either a corporation or a limited liability company.
Franchise: a new and popular
form of business, especially in the United States. This
is where an individual or small business (the franchisee)
is given the right to use the identity and sell the products
or services of another firm (franchisor). The chances
of success for the franchisee are high, but a small portion
of the profits must go to the franchisor. Examples of
this form of business ownership include McDonalds, Burger
King and the Body Shop.