Week 13 Chapter 4 Choosing a Form of Business Ownership

sole proprietorship

a business that is owned (and usually operated) by one person

Unlimited liability

a legal concept that holds a business owner personally responsible for all the debts of the business

limited partner

a person who invests money in a business but has no management responsibility or liability for losses beyond the amount they invested in the partnership

corporation

"(sometimes referred to as a regular or a C corporation) an artificial person

partnership

a voluntary association of two or more persons to act as co-owners of a business for profit

general partner

a person who assumes full or shared responsibility for operating a business

stock

the shares of ownership of a corporation

open corporation

"(sometimes referred to as a public corporation) a corporation whose stock can be bought and sold by any individual"

domestic corporation

a corporation in the state in which it is incorporated

stockholders

a person who owns a corporation's stock

closed corporation

"(sometimes referred to as a private corporation) a corporation whose stock is owned by relatively few people and is not sold to the general public" [

foreign corporation

"a corporation in any state in which it does business except the one in which it is incorporated"

alien corporation

"a corporation chartered by a foreign government and conducting business in the United States"

preferred stock

"stock owned by individuals or firms who usually do not have voting rights but whose claims on dividends are paid before those of common-stock owners"

common stock

"the most basic form of corporate ownership and whose owners may vote on corporate policies"

dividend

a distribution of earnings to the stockholders of a corporation

S corporation

a corporation that is taxed as though it were a partnership

proxy

"a legal form listing issues to be decided at a stockholders' meeting and enabling stockholders to transfer their voting rights to some other individual or individuals"

board of directors

"the top governing body of a corporation

Corporate officers

"the chairperson of the board

Limited liability

"a feature of corporate ownership that limits each owner's financial liability to the amount of money that they have paid for the corporation's stock"

limited liability company (LLC)

"a form of business ownership that combines the benefits of a corporation and a partnership while avoiding some of the restrictions and disadvantages of those forms of ownership"

joint venture

"an agreement between two or more groups to form a business entity in order to achieve a specific goal or to operate for a specific period of time"

not-for-profit corporation

"(sometimes referred to as nonprofit) a corporation organized to provide a social

syndicate

"a temporary association of individuals or firms organized to perform a specific task that requires a large amount of money"

merger

"the combining of two corporations or other business entities to form one business"

hostile takeover

"a situation in which the management and board of directors of a firm targeted for acquisition disapprove of the merger"

stockholder

a person who owns a corporation's stock