Business
hideA business (also called a firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself. 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 work and acceptance of risk. Notable exceptions include cooperative enterprises and state-owned enterprises. Socialist systems involve either government agencies, public ownership, state-ownership or direct worker ownership of enterprises and assets that would be run as businesses in a capitalist economy. The distinction between these institutions and a business is that socialist institutions often have alternative or additional goals aside from maximizing or turning a profit.
The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the singular usage (above) to mean a particular company or corporation, the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness, or the broadest meaning to include all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is a matter of debate.
Business Studies, the study of the management of individuals to maintain collective productivity to accomplish particular creative and productive goals (usually to generate profit), is taught as an academic subject in many schools.
For more information about Business, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with business
Software cos. eye key patent case in Supreme Court
Nov 08, 2009 |
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(AP) -- With the technology industry looking on, the Supreme Court on Monday will explore what types of inventions should be eligible for a patent in a pivotal case that could undermine such legal protections ...
Online collaboration with built-in clarity
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Software packages that interoperate while providing online users with an overview of their colleagues' work may finally threaten the dominance of email as the world's premier collaboration ...
A growing PayPal could soon overshadow parent eBay
Nov 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Most people know eBay Inc. for its online marketplace, where deals abound on everything from gadgets to antique furniture. But soon, eBay's biggest business will likely be PayPal, the online payments ...
Humana 3Q profit jumps on government programs
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Health insurer Humana Inc. rode its strong government business in posting a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit Monday, as bulging membership and premiums from Medicare Advantage overcame a lackluster ...
Social media require 'Community Relations 2.0'
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 30, 2009 |
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The rise of social media and real-time advocacy have re-written the community outreach rules companies followed for decades. But many American firms are dragging their feet as they approach "Community Relations 2.0," Boston ...
Motorola's shares surge with unexpected profit (Update)
Oct 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The turnaround effort long sought at Motorola Inc. finally could be on track.
Gossip in the workplace: A weapon or gift
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Gossip in the workplace can be a weapon in reputational warfare or a gift and can offer clues to power and influence not found on organizational charts. New research from Indiana University details how the ...
Cisco to buy ScanSafe for $183 million
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Cisco announced on Tuesday it has agreed to buy Web security company ScanSafe for some 183 million dollars, the latest in a string of acquisitions by the US networking giant.
Young entrepreneurs get tips from Facebook-Twitter
Oct 25, 2009 |
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Facebook and Twitter stars shared lessons learned with young entrepreneurs aspiring to be the next hot technology firm.
EBay 3Q net income falls, but revenue rises
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Despite a 29 percent decline in third-quarter net income, eBay Inc. saw stronger revenue in its marketplaces businesses, suggesting that efforts to revitalize its main Web site are gaining traction ...
Changing smell of plants announces fungus attack
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Tomato plants under attack from the Botrytis fungus give off an aromatic substance that can be measured in greenhouses. This is the result of research performed by Roel Jansen with which he ...
Cities can't bank on small businesses for stable economic partnerships
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Locally owned small businesses don't insulate communities from layoffs and closures in bad economic times. Rather, corporate headquarters do the most to protect cities from employment reductions, ...
Illuminating 'The Fredo Effect'
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Kimberly Eddleston wants to know how the “family” in family-run businesses either serves to constrict or promote a firm’s success.
Call it twine? Twitter makes wine for charity
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Everyone likes a wine with character. How about one with 140 of them? Yes, the people at Twitter - the social media site on which users post messages no longer than 140 characters - are getting into ...
Twitter still seeking ways to cash in
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Micro-blogging pioneer Twitter is still looking for ways to make money despite taking much of the world by storm, co-founder Biz Stone said.
