5.7 Economic Developments and Innovations - AP World

Organization of Businesses

Some manufacturers formed corporations to minimize risk, which are legal entities owned by stockholders. They receive sums of money when the corporation makes a profit

Bessemer Process

This was an efficient way produced steel and it gained a monopoly in the German steel industry, made by Alfred Krupp

Cecil Rhodes

This person founded De Beers Diamonds and also invested in a railroad project that connected all of the British-held colonies that would also aid in conduction of war. However, Britain never gained all of the land so the project was never completed.

Transnational Companies

These were companies that operated across national borders. Examples are Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation owned by the British that focused on finance and banking, and the Unilever Corporation that was also British and focused on household goods

Corporations

This is a flexible structure for large-scale economic activity. It engages in lower-risk efforts, and despite critics’ charges that it undermined individual responsibility, it became a common form of organization and domination many areas of business

Consumerism

This was the idea where the acquisition of goods beyond basic needs were encouraged. This linked personal happiness with material possessions. It developed with the middle class of Great Britain, facilitating advertising