OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS

A business entity is an organization that uses economic resources to provide goods

or services to customers in exchange for money or other goods and services.
Business organizations come in different types and in different forms of ownership.
3 Types of Business
There are three major types of businesses:
1. Service Business
A service type of business provides intangible products (products with no physical
form). Service type firms offer professional skills, expertise, advice, and other similar
products.
Examples of service businesses are: salons, repair shops, schools, banks,
accounting firms, and law firms.
2. Merchandising Business
This type of business buys products at wholesale price and sells the same at retail
price. They are known as "buy and sell" businesses. They make profit by selling the
products at prices higher than their purchase costs.
A merchandising business sells a product without changing its form. Examples are:
grocery stores, convenience stores, distributors, and other resellers.
3. Manufacturing Business
Unlike a merchandising business, a manufacturing business buys products with the
intention of using them as materials in making a new product. Thus, there is a
transformation of the products purchased.
A manufacturing business combines raw materials, labor, and overhead costs in its
production process. The manufactured goods will then be sold to customers.
Hybrid Business
Hybrid businesses are companies that may be classified in more than one type of
business. A restaurant, for example, combines ingredients in making a fine meal
(manufacturing), sells a cold bottle of wine (merchandising), and fills customer orders
(service).
Forms of Business Organization
These are the basic forms of business ownership:
1. Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is a business owned by only one person. It is easy to set-up
and is the least costly among all forms of ownership. The owner faces unlimited
liability; meaning, the creditors of the business may go after the personal assets of
the owner if the business cannot pay them.
The sole proprietorship form is usually adopted by small business entities.
2. Partnership
A partnership is a business owned by two or more persons who contribute resources
into the entity. The partners divide the profits of the business among themselves.
In general partnerships, all partners have unlimited liability. In limited
partnerships, creditors cannot go after the personal assets of the limited partners.
3. Corporation
A corporation is a business organization that has a separate legal personality from
its owners. Ownership in a stock corporation is represented by shares of stock.
The owners (stockholders) enjoy limited liability but have limited involvement in the
company's operations. The board of directors, an elected group from the
stockholders, controls the activities of the corporation.
In addition to those basic forms of business ownership, these are some other types
of organizations that are common today:
Limited Liability Company
Limited liability companies (LLCs) in the USA, are hybrid forms of business that have
characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership. An LLC is not incorporated;
hence, it is not considered a corporation. But, the owners enjoy limited liability like in
a corporation. An LLC may elect to be taxed as a sole proprietorship, a partnership,
or a corporation.
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned by a group of individuals and is
operated for their mutual benefit. The persons making up the group are
called members. Cooperatives may be incorporated or unincorporated.
Some examples of cooperatives are: water and electricity (utility) cooperatives,
cooperative banking, credit unions, and housing cooperatives.

List of industries
Financial Services
All economic activity in the world uses a common language – money.
There are a lot of tasks that revolve around generating wealth and
managing, transferring, storing, investing, protecting and accounting for
it.
This is where companies that provide a host of financial services come
into the picture to make life easier for regular folks who lack the
expertise or time for it.
Related sectors: Retail banking, insurance, investment banking, hedge
funds, wealth & asset management, venture capital, private equity, credit
cards, private banking, foreign exchange, accountancy, consumer-
finance and brokerage.

Technology
It’s difficult to imagine life without the all-pervasive (and often all-
intrusive) technology products and services that touch almost every facet
of our day-to-day lives.
It may focus on automating routine tasks or improving our general
quality of life or help companies manage the avalanche of data that
billions of transactions generate each day.
Related sectors: Information technology, nano-technology, bio-
technology, aerospace technology, robotics, artificial intelligence.

Consulting
Consultants bring in specialised knowledge that companies and
individuals may not possess. While the general definition of consulting
may apply to almost any field from health to personal relationships, one
of the most lucrative career options for fresh and experienced graduates
is in the area of business consulting.
Related sectors: Management consulting – business strategy, technology,
operations management, process re-engineering.

Manufacturing
Compared to the new age industries (such as technology), manufacturing
can be considered as the world’s oldest industry (not to be confused with
the world’s oldest profession).
It involves mass production of end products or components which in
turn are used in more complex products. Think about the number of
individual parts that work in unison in a car, or a fridge, or defense
equipment like tanks.
Related sectors: Production, fabrication, packaging, assembly line and
plant design, process automation.
Consumer Products
While the bare essentials for survival might still revolve around food,
clothing and shelter, the number of items you can choose from in each
category is mind-boggling.
You could be part of a company that satisfies these primal and
sophisticated wants and needs of the modern man.
Related sectors: Toys, household products, pharmaceuticals, dairy
products, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)

Retail
All the consumer goods produced by the folks in the above category need
to find a way into homes, sometimes spread across the world. The retail
industry helps build that connection between the company
manufacturing the product and the consumer waiting to buy it.
Related sectors: Offline retail (shopping chains, malls, department
stores), online retail

Telecommunications
‘Global village’, ‘small world’, ‘glocal’ are all words made possible by
companies in the telecommunication industry that bridge the gap
between geographies and enable the most basic needs among humans
(and now, machines too) – to communicate with each other.
Whether is audio, video or data communication, you have a plethora of
options to suit your speed and personalization requirements.
Related sectors: Telephones, mobiles, carrier networks, fiber optics,
internet, voice over IP (VoIP), LAN / WAN, virtual private networks
(VPN).

Food and Beverages

The agriculture industry produces raw material (grains, fruits,
vegetables) that is perishable in nature and does not have a long shelf
life.
Companies in the Food and Beverage industry come into the picture to
consume this raw material and create a whole new breed of products
(some more healthier than others) that are easier to store, transport and
consume.
Related sectors: Packaged and processed food, alcohol, soft drinks,
wellness / health foods, bottled water.

Media and Entertainment

All work and no play would make for a very dull life. Media companies
play an important role in keeping people educated, informed and
entertained.
International news travels faster than domestic news, thanks to the huge
network of journalists and technology that come together help you stay
connected.
Related sectors: Television, movies, radio, newspapers, books,
magazines, websites, animation.
Every single business listed above is an ocean in itself. The market
leaders in each industry are worth billions of dollars and employs
millions of people. While the pay at the bottom of the rung may not be
much, the perks rise as you grow within the industry and build cross-
disciplinary skills.

Difference between Sole

Proprietorship and
Partnership
Sole proprietorship is a form of business organisation in which
an individual introduces his own capital, uses his own skill and
intelligence in the management of its affairs and is solely
responsible for the results of its operations.
The individual may run the business alone or may obtain the
assistance of employees. It is the first stage in the evolution of
the forms of organisation and is, thus, the oldest among them.

Partnership is a voluntary association of persons who have

come together to carry on business with the vision to earn
profits.
Individually each person is known as partner, relationship
between or among them is known as partnership and name
given to such a relationship is known as partnership firm.
What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind,
such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs;
and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which
enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or
create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the
wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which
creativity and innovation can flourish.

What are intellectual property rights?

Intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of
their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of
his/her creation for a certain period of time.
Intellectual property rights are customarily divided into two main areas:

(i) Copyright and rights related to copyright.

The rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical
compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected by copyright, for a
minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author.
Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighbouring”) rights are the
rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings)
and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of protection of copyright and related rights
is to encourage and reward creative work.
(ii) Industrial property
Industrial property can usefully be divided into two main areas:

 One area can be characterized as the protection of distinctive signs, in particular

trademarks (which distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of
other undertakings) and geographical indications (which identify a good as originating in a
 place where a given characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical
origin).

The protection of such distinctive signs aims to stimulate and ensure fair competition and
to protect consumers, by enabling them to make informed choices between various goods
and services. The protection may last indefinitely, provided the sign in question continues
to be distinctive.

 Other types of industrial property are protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design
and the creation of technology. In this category fall inventions (protected by patents),
industrial designs and trade secrets.

The social purpose is to provide protection for the results of investment in the
development of new technology, thus giving the incentive and means to finance research
and development activities.

A functioning intellectual property regime should also facilitate the transfer of technology
in the form of foreign direct investment, joint ventures and licensing.

The protection is usually given for a finite term (typically 20 years in the case of patents).

While the basic social objectives of intellectual property protection are as outlined above, it should
also be noted that the exclusive rights given are generally subject to a number of limitations and
exceptions, aimed at fine-tuning the balance that has to be found between the legitimate interests of
right holders and of users.