sole proprietorship
a business owned and managed by a single individual
business organization
the ownership structure of a company or firm
business license
authorization to operate a business issued by a local government
zoning laws
laws in a city or town that designate certain areas, or zones, for residential and business use
liability
the legal obligation to pay debts
fringe benefits
payments to employees other than wages or salary
partnership
a business organization owned by two or more persons who agree on a specific devision of responsibilities and profits
general partnership
a type of partnership in which all partners share equally in both responsibility and liability
limited partnership
a type of partnership in which only one partner is required to be a general partner
limited liability partnership
a type of partnership in which all partners are limited partners
articles of partnership
a partnership agreement that spells out each partner's rights and responsibilities
assets
the money and other valuables belonging to an individual or business
business franchise
a semi-independent business that pays fees to a parent company in return for the exclusive right to sell a certain product or service in a given area
royalties
the share of earnings given by a franchisee as payment to the franchiser
corporation
a legal entity, or being, owned by individual stockholders, each of whom has limited liability for the firm's debts
stock
a certificate of ownership in a corporation
closely held corporation
a type of corporation that issues stock to only a few people, who are often family members
publicly held corporation
a type of corporation that sells stock on the open market
bond
a formal contract issued by a corporation or other entity that includes a promise to repay borrowed money with interest at fixed intervals
certificate of incorporation
a license to form a corporation issued by a state government
dividend
the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders
limited liability corporation
a type of business with limited liability for the owners, with the advantage of not paying corporate income tax
horizontal merger
the combination of two or more firms competing in the same market with the same good or service
vertical merger
two or more firms involved in different stages of producing the same good or service
conglomerate
a business combination merging more than three businesses that produce unrelated products or services
multinational corporation
a large corporation that produces and sells its goods and services in more than one country
cooperative
a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their shared benefit
consumer cooperative
a retail outlet owned and operated by consumers that sells merchandise to members at reduced prices
service cooperative
a type of cooperative that provides a service rather than a good
producer cooperative
an agricultural marketing cooperative that helps members sell their products
nonprofit organization
an institution that functions much like a business, but does not operate for the purpose of generating profit
professional organization
a nonprofit organization that works to improve the image, working conditions, and skill levels of people in particular occupations
business association
a group organized to promote the collective business interests of an area or group of similar businesses
trade association
nonprofit organizations that promote the interests of particular industries