Online
Business School is now
open. Business/Management and Research curriculum
and learning contents subscriptions are available
to International Universities, Colleges,
Management Development and Training Centres
and their Students and Staff throughout the
world.
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.
