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For other uses, see business (disambiguation) or The Business
Business and Economics Portal
Companies law
Basic forms:
Sole proprietorship
Partnership
(General · Limited · LLP)
Corporation
Cooperative
United States:
Business trust · LLC · LLLP
Series LLC
Delaware corporation
Nevada corporation
United Kingdom / Commonwealth / Ireland:
Limited company
(By shares · By guarantee)
(Public · Proprietary)
Community interest company
Civil law countries:
AB · AG · ANS · A/S · AS
K.K. · N.V. · OY · S.A. · GmbH
European Company Statute
Doctrines
Corporate governance
Limited liability · Ultra vires
Business judgment rule
Internal affairs doctrine
De facto corporation and
corporation by estoppel
Piercing the corporate veil
Rochdale Principles
Related areas of law
Contract · Civil procedure
In economics, a business is a legally-recognized organizational entity existing within an economically free country designed to sell goods and/or services to consumers, usually in an effort to generate profit.
In predominantly capitalist economies, where most businesses are privately owned, businesses are typically formed to earn profit and grow the personal wealth of their owners. The owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for their work — that is, the expense of time and energy — and for their acceptance of risk—investing work and money without certainty of success. Notable exceptions to this rule include cooperative businesses and government institutions. This model of business functioning is opposed by socialists, who advocate either government, public, or worker ownership of most sizable businesses; and to a lesser extent by individuals advocating for a mixed economy of private and state-owned enterprises.
The etymology of "business" refers to the state of being busy in the context of the individual as well as the community or society. In other words, to be busy is to be doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the general usage (above), the singular usage to refer to a particular company or corporation, and the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the record business," "the computer business," or "the business community"—the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is disputable; for example, some Marxists use "means of production" as a rough synonym for "business". However, a more accurate definition of "means of production" would be the resources and apparatus by which products and services are created. Control of these resources and apparatus results in control of business activity, and so, while they are very closely related, they are not the same thing.
Business Studies, the study of the management of individuals organizing to maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals (usually to generate profit), is taught as an academic subject in many schools.
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