What is a business?

What is a business? What is the definition of a commercial enterprise? How does a business work and what legal form can it take?

Company definition: A company is a human organization whose aim is to produce goods or services with a view to delivering them to customers, with the aim of achieving balance or financial surplus (profitability).


More precisely :

  • A company is a complex and open organization, widely interfaced with other economic actors and notably suppliers, customers, the State and social organizations.
  • The company operates in an environment more or less favorable , marked by trends, opportunities, risks, threats and the presence of competitors.
  • The company consumes resources (material, human, financial, intangible) in order to create value:
    • internal resources: staff, buildings, equipment owned, etc.
    • external resources: subcontractors, service providers, etc.
  • The company is organized into different functions which allow it to deal with tasks of different nature (see below).
  • The company is owned by one or more people who own its capital, and who direct it or not.
  • Finally, the company is subject to complex strategic decisions , the aim of which is to increase its sales, performance and profitability:
    • marketing decisions: they are based on an analysis of the market, the environment and the competition, and consist in defining a commercial positioning :
      • which product ?
      • what price ?
      • which distribution network?
      • what communication?
    • organizational decisions: they are based on an analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses and consist of an improvement in the performance of the various functions of the company,
    • financial decisions: they are based on an analysis of the financial situation of the company but also on the commercial and organizational diagnosis, in order to determine budgets and future investments.

In the end, what is a business? The following diagram summarizes the position of the company in relation to third parties:

Thus the company is a type of organization subject to strong constraints:

  • internal constraints: shareholders' wishes, available resources, employee demands and behavior,
  • external constraints: supplier behavior, customer expectations, changes in environmental characteristics, etc.

What is a business? The different functions.

Here are the main functions of the company:

  • Marketing: definition of the product and how it will be promoted and delivered. It is a strategic function.
  • Commercial: customer acquisition, canvassing.
  • Production: product manufacturing, logistics.
  • Administration and management: administrative tasks, reception, accounting, financial analysis, information systems, etc.
  • Human resources: recruitment, management.
  • Research and development.

The different corporate legal statuses.

In legal terms, companies can take different forms:

  • the individual companies are owned and managed by one person, who is personally. In most cases, the heritage of the company is confused with the heritage of the manager. In France, a distinction is made between traditional individual businesses and micro-businesses , the latter benefiting from tax and social simplification measures.
  • the companies are legal entities in their own right, created by one or more partners or "shareholders". Companies have their own operating rules (the articles of association) and their own assets. Among the companies, there are variants:
    • forms of companies by shares: SARL (or EURL in the case of a sole partner),
    • forms of joint stock companies: SA, SAS ( SASU in the case of a sole partner).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to succeed in winning over your competitors

Image
In a highly  competitive  market , it is sometimes difficult to break into companies that have been established longer than you or have more resources.  We then tend to lower the prices of our products or services in the hope of attracting potential customers.  Obviously, your prices communicate an idea of ​​what you are, of your expertise, of how you judge your own services.  Difficult to appear as an expert if you are half the price of your  competition .  Quality pays for itself and everyone is aware of this, as are your customers! Price is far from the only lever to position yourself and win sales.  Lowering prices, when they are well valued, of course, is never the answer.  This will only send a negative message about your business.  So, you will say to me, how to position yourself against the giants of your sector, how to position yourself in a congested sector? Before embarking on major communication actions, ask yourself, calmly, and take stock.  Come back if necessary to your
Read more

The advantages of taking out insurance

Image
Insurance often evokes feelings of financial insecurity.  Some people find it a way to steal money from others and others do not know what it is for.  However, by signing an  insurance contract , we are putting much of our money in good hands.  This allows, over the long term, to  build up savings  and also to  insure against possible risks , depending on the type of insurance chosen: personal insurance, property or claims insurance, and insurance activity. Taking out insurance also has  advantages , still little known to the public, in terms of security, taxation, and profitability.  But rest assured, we will explain it to you. Real profitability How can insurance be profitable?  Insurance, in practice, is a contract by which the insurer undertakes to pay a certain sum to the insured on the occurrence of risk by means of the payment of a premium or premium periodically.  There are several kinds of insurance, but all allow the insured to benefit from  certain profitability , from an  e
Read more

What happens if I want to cancel insurance in the middle of the year

Image
Many people wonder "  what happens if I cancel insurance in the middle of the year"  .  Especially in the cases of motorcycle insurance or car insurance.  The main question is usually if the companies are going to return the amount of the proportional part that remains to be "spent" until the end of the contracted term. A few days ago we told you  what to do to change your insurance company . And there we explained the legal obligation to  notify the company of the change two months in advance.  And the company's obligation to notify the user of the next expiration and renewal of the insurance, also with those two months. It should be clear that what is contracted when signing an  insurance policy,  of any branch, is an  annual insurance contract .  This means that once the policy takes effect the contract does not expire until after the year.  And this is independent of the form of payment that is established in each case. There are policies that are paid annua
Read more