Business Ethics
others. Preferred stock is 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. A dividend is a distribution or earnings to the stockholders of a corporation. A proxy is a legal form listing issues to be decided by stockholders meetings and enabling stockholders to transfer their voting rights to some other individual or individuals. The board of directors is the top governing body of a corporation, the members of which are elected by the stockholders. Corporate officers are appointed by the board of directors.
S-corporations is a corporation that is taxed as though it were a partnership. Limited liability is a feature of corporate ownership that limits each owners financial liability to the amount of money she or he has paid for the corporations stocks. A limited liability company is a form of business ownership that provides limited liability and taxed like a partnership. A government owned corporation is a corporation owned and operated by local, state and federal government. A Quasi-government corporation is a business owned partly by the government and partly by private citizens or firms. A non-for-profit corporation is a corporation organized to provide a social, educational, religious, or other services rather than own a profit. Cooperative is an association of individuals or firms whose purpose is to perform some business function for its members. A joint venture is 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. A syndicate is a temporary association of individuals or firms organized to perform a specific tasks that requires a large amount of capital.
A merger is the purchase of one corporation by another. A hostile takeover is a situation in which management and the board of directors of the firm targeted for acquisition disapprove of the merger. Tender offer is an offer to purchase the stock of a firm targeted for acquisition at a price just high enough to tempt stockholders to sell their shares. A proxy fight is a technique used to gather enough stockholder votes to control the target company. A divesture is the process of dismantling a company and selling of different parts. Leveraged buyout is a purchase arrangement that allows a firm’s managers and employees or a group of investors to purchase the company.