Corporate Entity

A Corporate Entity is an organization that is recognized by law (corporate law) to have its own privileges and liabilities distinct from those of its members.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) be constrained by Corporate Law.
  • It can (typically) be a Collective Intelligent Agent.
  • It can (often) have a Board of Directors.
  • It can (often) possess legal personality, enabling it to sue, be sued, own property, and enter into contracts as a distinct entity from its members.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Public Corporation to being a Private Corporation.
  • It can range from being a Small Corporation to being a Large Corporation.
  • It can range from being a For-Profit Corporation to being a Non-Profit Corporation.
  • …
  • It can issue shares to raise capital, making it attractive for investment and business expansion.
  • It can be subject to jurisdictional variations, with different countries imposing specific compliance, reporting, and governance standards.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • a Public Company, which offers shares to the public and operates under strict regulatory requirements.
    • Google Corporation, a multinational technology company specializing in internet services.
    • Apple Inc., a consumer electronics company known for products like the iPhone and Mac.
    • Microsoft Corporation, a leading software and cloud computing company.
  • a Private Corporation, typically owned by a small group of shareholders and not publicly traded.
    • Cargill, a privately held global corporation in the food and agriculture sector.
    • Koch Industries, a conglomerate involved in various industries such as energy and chemicals.
  • a Non-Profit Corporation, which operates primarily for social, educational, or charitable purposes without profit distribution.
    • Red Cross, providing emergency assistance and disaster relief worldwide.
    • World Wildlife Fund (WWF), focused on environmental conservation and research.
  • a Government-Owned Corporation, which is wholly or partially owned by the state to provide public services.
    • United States Postal Service (USPS), responsible for mail and package delivery across the U.S.
    • BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), a public service broadcaster in the United Kingdom.
  • a Multinational Corporation, which operates in multiple countries and manages international subsidiaries.
    • Nestlé, a global food and beverage corporation with operations in nearly every country.
    • Toyota Motor Corporation, a leading automotive manufacturer with a global supply chain.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Not-For-Profit Organizations, which, while they have legal personality, operate under a different mandate focusing on non-commercial objectives.
  • Partnerships, which typically do not have separate legal personalities distinct from their owners.
  • Sole Proprietorships, where the business and the owner are legally the same entity.
  • Unincorporated Associations that lack the separate legal status of a corporate entity.
• See: Corporate Law, Limited Liability Company, Company, State (Polity), Legal Person, Charter, Ad Hoc, Jurisdiction, List of Company Registers, Share Capital, Profit (Accounting), Corporation Sole, Transnational Corporation, Multinational Corporation, Financial Institution, Insolvency, Too Big to Fail.

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_corporation Retrieved:2024-9-29.
  • Public corporation may refer to:
    • Government-owned corporation
    • Public company, i.e. a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the public
    • Statutory corporation, i.e. a corporation created by statute that is owned in part or in whole by a government, such as municipal councils, bar councils, universities)

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation Retrieved:2023-7-18.
  • A corporation is an organization — usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and recognized as such in law for certain purposes. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e., by an ad hoc act granted by a monarch or passed by a parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration. Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered based on two aspects: by whether they can issue stock, or by whether they are formed to make a profit. Depending on the number of owners, a corporation can be classified as aggregate (the subject of this article) or sole (a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office occupied by a single natural person). One of the attractive early advantages business corporations offered to their investors, compared to earlier business entities like sole proprietorships and joint partnerships, was limited liability. Limited liability means that a passive shareholder in a corporation will not be personally liable either for contractually agreed obligations of the corporation, or for torts (involuntary harms) committed by the corporation against a third party. Limited liability in contract is uncontroversial because the parties to the contract could have agreed to it and could agree to waive it by contract. However, limited liability in tort remains controversial because third parties do not agree to waive the right to pursue shareholders. There is significant evidence that limited liability in tort may lead to excessive corporate risk taking and more harm by corporations to third parties. Where local law distinguishes corporations by their ability to issue stock, corporations allowed to do so are referred to as stock corporations; one type of investment in the corporation is through stock, and owners of stock are referred to as stockholders or shareholders. Corporations not allowed to issue stock are referred to as non-stock corporations; i.e. those who are considered the owners of a non-stock corporation are persons (or other entities) who have obtained membership in the corporation and are referred to as a member of the corporation. Corporations chartered in regions where they are distinguished by whether they are allowed to be for-profit are referred to as for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, respectively. There is some overlap between stock/non-stock and for-profit/not-for-profit in that not-for-profit corporations are nearly always non-stock as well. A for-profit corporation is almost always a stock corporation, but some for-profit corporations may choose to be non-stock . To simplify the explanation, whenever "stockholder" or "shareholder" is used in the rest of this article to refer to a stock corporation, it is presumed to mean the same as "member" for a non-profit corporation or for a profit, non-stock corporation. Registered corporations have legal personality recognized by local authorities and their shares are owned by shareholders whose liability is generally limited to their investment. Shareholders do not typically actively manage a corporation; shareholders instead elect or appoint a board of directors to control the corporation in a fiduciary capacity. In most circumstances, a shareholder may also serve as a director or officer of a corporation. Countries with co-determination employ the practice of workers of an enterprise having the right to vote for representatives on the board of directors in a company. In American English, the word corporation is most often used to describe large business corporations. In British English and in the Commonwealth countries, the term company is more widely used to describe the same sort of entity while the word corporation encompasses all incorporated entities. In American English, the word company can include entities such as partnerships that would not be referred to as companies in British English as they are not a separate legal entity. Late in the 19th century, a new form of the company having the limited liability protections of a corporation, and the more favorable tax treatment of either a sole proprietorship or partnership was developed. While not a corporation, this new type of entity became very attractive as an alternative for corporations not needing to issue stock. In Germany, the organization was referred to as or GmbH. In the last quarter of the 20th century, this new form of non-corporate organization became available in the United States and other countries, and was known as the limited liability company or LLC. Since the GmbH and LLC forms of organization are technically not corporations (even though they have many of the same features), they will not be discussed in this article.

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/corporation Retrieved:2017-6-5.
  • A corporation is a company or group of people authorized to act as a single entity (legally a person) and recognized as such in law. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e. by an ad hoc act granted by a monarch or passed by a parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration.

    Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered into two kinds: by whether or not they can issue stock, or by whether or not they are for profit. ...

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