Economics Business & Labor

Right to work law

a statute in the United States that prohibits union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers, that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees' membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring

Mediation

a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties with concrete effects

Closely held corporation

any company that has only a limited number of shareholders

Business license

authorization to start a business issued by the local government

Nonprofit organization

business entity that is granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service

Equilibrium wage

change in labor demand and/or supply will alter the equilibrium and change wages and employment

Blue collar- working

class person historically defined by hourly rates of pay and manual labor

Conglomerate

combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries

Privately held corporation

company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the company's stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged privately

Multinational corporation

corporation that has its facilities and other assets in at least one country other than its home country

Factors affecting wages

cost of living, personal perception of wage, government legislation, ability to pay, supply and demand, productivity

Derived demand

demand for a factor of production or intermediate good that occurs as a result of the demand for another intermediate or final good

Dividend

distribution of a portion of a company's earnings

Wage discrimination

due to the operation of the labor market, similar workers receive different wages on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, age or other ascribed characteristic not directly related to productivity

Fringe benefit

extra benefit supplementing an employee's salary

Bureau of Labor statistics

government agency that produces economic data that reflects the state of the U.S. economy

Corporation

has the right to enter into contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets and pay taxes

Semi-skilled labor

having or requiring less training than skilled labor and more than unskilled labor

White collar

historically have been the "shirt and tie" set,defined by office jobs

Business organization

individual or group of people that collaborate to achieve certain commercial goal

Bond

it is a debt security, under which the issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay them interest and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed the maturity date

Liability

legal debts or obligations that arise during the course of business operations

Certificate of incorporation

legal document relating to the formation of a company or corporation. It is a license to form a corporation issued by state government

Zoning law

limit commercial use of land in order to prevent oil, manufacturing or other types of businesses from building in residential neighborhoods

Trade association

an association of organizations in the same trade formed to further their collective interests, esp in negotiating with governments, trade unions

Vertical Merger

merger between two companies producing different goods or services for one specific finished product

Limited liability partnership

one partner is not responsible or liable for another partner's misconduct or negligence

Labor union

organization that advocates for workers' rights and benefits through collective bargaining

Limited partnership

partner in a partnership whose liability is limited to the extent of the partner's share of ownership

General partnership

partners conducting a business jointly have unlimited liability

Royalty

payment is made to the legal owner of a property, patent, copyrighted work or franchise by those who wish to make use of it for the purposes of generating revenue or other such desirable activities

Arbitration

proceeding in which a dispute is resolved by an impartial adjudicator whose decision the parties to the dispute have agreed, or legislation has decreed, will be final and binding

Collective bargaining

process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements to regulate working conditions

Business franchise

relationship in which a franchiser provides a licensed privilege to the franchisee to do business and offers assistance in organizing, training, merchandising, marketing and managing in return for a monetary consideration

Assets

resource with economic value that an individual, corporation or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide future benefit

Unskilled labor

segment of the work force associated with a low skill level or a limited economic value for the work performed

Skilled labor

specialized part of the labor force with advanced education

Business association

study of the financial issues and challenges faced by corporations

Professional organization

a body of persons engaged in the same profession, formed usually to control entry into the profession, maintain standards, and represent the profession in discussions with other bodies

Horizontal Merger

a business consolidation that occurs between firms who operate in the same space, often as competitors offering the same good or service

Partnership

a business or firm owned and run by two or more partners.

Contingent employment

a provisional group of workers who work for an organization on a non-permanent basis, also known as freelancers, independent professionals, temporary contract workers, independent contractors or consultants

Productivity

a ratio between the output volume and the volume of inputs

Strike

a rebellion by employees over wages, hours, or working conditions as opposed to one called in protest against unfair practices by an employer

Labor force

the people who are willing and able to work

Featherbedding

the practice of a labor union requiring an employer to hire more workers than necessary for a particular task

Learning effect

the process by which education increases productivity and results in higher wages

Screening effect

the ways in which buyers filter out false information from sellers, retaining only what is true

Stock

type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings

Sole proprietorship

unincorporated business with one owner who pays personal income tax on profits from the business. With little government regulation, they are the simplest business to set up or take apart, making them popular among individual self contractors or business owners. Disadvantage is unlimited liability

Articles of partnership

voluntary contract between two or among more than two persons to place their capital, labor, and skills, and corporation in business with the understanding that there will be a sharing of the profits and losses between/among partners

Unemployment

when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work

Uniform partnership act

which includes revisions that are sometimes called the Revised Uniform Partnership Act, is a uniform act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws for the governance of business partnerships by U.S

Producer cooperative

Producer owned and democratically-controlled organizations that serve their members through cooperative marketing, support and/or purchasing

Cooperative

a jointly owned enterprise engaging in the production or distribution of goods or the supplying of services, operated by its members for their mutual benefit, typically organized by consumers or farmers

Glass ceiling

unseen, yet unbreakable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements

Service cooperative

voluntary association of at least 15 persons for the purpose of mobilizing and utilizing their resources to provide themselves and/or the community with essential services

Publicly held corporation

whose ownership is dispersed among the general public in many shares of stock which are freely traded on a stock exchange or in over the counter markets

Professional labor

workers with a high level of professional and managerial skills