The etymology of "business" refers to the state of being busy,
in the context of the individual as well as the community or society. In other
words, to be busy is to be doing commercially viable and profitable work.
The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the
scope — the general usage (above), the singular usage to refer to a particular company or corporation,
and the generalized usage to refer to a particular market
sector, such as "the record business," "the computer
business," or "the business community" -- the community of
suppliers of goods and services.
The singular "business" can be a legally-recognized entity within
an economically
free society, wherein individuals organize based on expertise and skills to
bring about social and technological advancement.
With some exceptions, (such as cooperatives, non-profit
organizations and (typically) government institutions), in predominatly capitalist economies, businesses are formed to earn profit and grow the personal wealth of their owners.
In other words, the owners and operators of a business have as one of their
main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial
return in exchange for their work — that is, the expense of time, energy, and money.
However, the exact definition of business is disputable as is business
philosophy; for example, most Marxists use "means
of production" as a rough synonym for "business." Socialists advocate either government, public, or worker ownership of most sizable
businesses.
Business - Wikipedia |
