Definition
- SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP: A sole proprietorship is a business owned and operated by one individual person. (A person is a real human being, as opposed to an artificial legal entity such as a corporation or organization.) Under limited liability each owner is only responsible for the proportion of his/her shares.
- PARTNERSHIP: A partnership allows two or more people to share profits and liabilities, with or without privately held shares. In a partnership, the parties could be individuals, corporations, trusts, other partnerships, or a combination of all of the above. The essential characteristic of this partnership is the unlimited liability of every partner.
- LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION: Limited partnership is a legal form that includes one or several general partners and one or more limited partners who invest capital into the partnership, but do not take part in the daily operation or management of the business. The limited partners limit their amount of liability to the amount of capital invested in the partnership. The general partners personally shoulder all debts and obligations of the partnership. Business operations are governed, unless otherwise specified in a written agreement, by majority vote of voting partners. Limited liability partnerships are separate legal entities that provide liability protection for all general partners as well as management rights in the business.
- PART OF A MULTI-NATIONAL FIRM: Can be thought of as a foreign investment enterprise. The firm has workplaces in more than one country, usually many countries.
- COOPERATIVE: A cooperative is an association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and cultural benefit. Cooperatives include non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use its services (a consumer cooperative) and/or by the people who work there (a worker cooperative).
