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The time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. This chart is from 2017 statistics.
Small business vendors at a public market

Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."

A business entity is not necessarily separate from the owner and the creditors can hold the owner liable for debts the business has acquired except for limited liability company. The taxation system for businesses is different from that of the corporates. A business structure does not allow for corporate tax rates. The proprietor is personally taxed on all income from the business.

A distinction is made in law and public offices between the term business and a company (such as a corporation or cooperative). Colloquially, the terms are used interchangeably. (Full article...)

Economics (/ˌɛkəˈnɒmɪks, ˌkə-/) is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses what is viewed as basic elements within economies, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyses economies as systems where production, distribution, consumption, savings, and investment expenditure interact; and the factors of production affecting them, such as: labour, capital, land, and enterprise, inflation, economic growth, and public policies that impact these elements. It also seeks to analyse and describe the global economy. (Full article...)

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John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he conceived of liberty as justifying the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. He advocated political and social reforms such as proportional representation, the emancipation of women, and the development of labour organisations and farm cooperatives.

The Columbia Encyclopedia describes Mill as occasionally coming "close to socialism, a theory repugnant to his predecessors". He was a proponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by his predecessor Jeremy Bentham. He contributed to the investigation of scientific methodology, though his knowledge of the topic was based on the writings of others, notably William Whewell, John Herschel, and Auguste Comte, and research carried out for Mill by Alexander Bain. He engaged in written debate with Whewell.

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Photo credit: Caciss

Seaborne piracy has been affecting trade since the 13th century BC. Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue, with estimated worldwide losses of US $13 to $16 billion per year.

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The City of London, the financial capital of England, and the United Kingdom as a whole

The economy of England is the largest economy of the four countries of the United Kingdom. England's economy is one of the largest and most dynamic in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £37,852 in 2022.

His Majesty's Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. Government involvement is also primarily exercised by the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Regarded as a highly developed social market economy, it has adopted many free market principles, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure. (Full article...)

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"Sloan grabbed hold of this important modification in the marketplace and began to offer more and more different models. This "full-line" policy was General Motor's unique strategy to answer public demands. How did the automobile industry as a whole respond to this diversification?

In the transition from mass-produced Model T's to the full-line policy of General Motors, production processes became complicated. To reduce costs while making various types of cars, standard parts had to be developed for use in different models. The Ford system, however, was not modified to any great extent.

At about this time, pricing policies were actively studied and employed in response to the wide variations resulting from diversification in the marketplace. I think that in production, however, the unfinished Ford system changed little and became deeply rooted.

When building up the Toyota production system, I always kept in mind the Japanese market and its demands for many types of cars in small quantities - different from American demands for a few types in large quantities.

The Toyota production system helps production meet market demands. We now know that producing many types of cars in large quantities is economically desirable, even though the Toyota system was built on the premise of many types in small quantities for the Japanese environment. Thus, the system is proving its effectiveness in the mature Japanese market. At the same time, I think the Toyota production system can be applied in America where the market for many types in large quantities has existed since Sloan's time."

Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production System, English edition of 1988

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  • ... that the economy of Tolkien's Middle-earth has been described as a mix of feudalism and capitalism, with one scholar even suggesting it had communist elements?
  • ... that the Darwin Rocksitters Club had "no funny business" as their first, third, and fifth rules?
  • ... that food was left to rot outside after the supermarket Supie went out of business?
  • ... that Dane Hansen started a road-construction business with about 100 mules that he was unable to sell to the US Army after World War I ended?
  • ... that Harriet Converse Moody's restaurant and catering business failed after almost 40 years in part because of her lavish spending as a patron of poets?
  • ... that Mary Mellor argued that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the impact of the patriarchy on women, both at home and in the wider economy?

On this day in business history

September 2:

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The following are images from various business-related articles on Wikipedia.

More did you know

William McChesney Martin, Jr.
  • ...that, according to historical legend, Laissez-faire stems from a meeting in about 1681 between the powerful French finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert and a group of French businessmen led by a certain M. Le Gendre?
  • ...that Antoine Augustin Cournot derived the first formula for the rule of supply and demand as a function of price and in fact was the first to draw supply and demand curves on a graph in his Researches on the Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth?
  • ...that the Toyota Production System (TPS) developed by Toyota, that comprises its management philosophy and practices, organizes manufacturing and logistics for the automobile manufacturer, including interaction with suppliers and customers?

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