Business Organizations Activity

Business organizations range from part-time sole proprietorships selling a few hundred dollars per year to publicly traded corporations on the New York Stock Exchange selling billions of dollars worth of products and services to the global marketplace.

Regardless of the form of organization, being a successful business owner requires you to know the different forms of business  organizations, their characteristics and their advantages and disadvantages.

This will also help you to determine what is the best business organization and structure for a particular situation, such as your own business. Keep in mind that even professionals, such as doctors and accountants, find it important to structure their business in a certain way.

For this activity, you will have the opportunity to closely analyze the various forms of business organizations by creating a fictional business. You can pick any type of business or industry that you have an interest in - for example: a gym, clothing store, accounting practice, social networking site or restaurant. Use this activity to be creative!

Please completely address all of the following questions in your essay. Your essay will be judged on your capacity to present strong, analytical and logical discussions that support your conclusions.

· Describe the nature of your business. What are your objectives?

· Will you organize the business as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation? Thoroughly explain your choice including the advantages and disadvantages to your chosen form of business organization.

· How must your business be started up or formed? What steps must be taken to ensure proper formation (creation)?

· Describe who has ultimate control over important decisions as well as day-to-day operations for your chosen business organization.

· Describe your own personal liability for any debts incurred by the business. Are your personal assets safe from creditors? Do you have any options for protecting your personal assets?

· Discuss how the profits will be distributed between the company and the owners/shareholders.

· Describe the dissolution (or "winding up") process for your chosen business organization. Can the business continue on after your personal interest is terminated?

· Discuss any ethical issues that might arise in your business and how you might handle those issues. How might you use ethical decision-making to address those challenges?

The assignment should be presented in APA format and be a minimum of 500 words (2 pages or more), to be double-spaced, typed in 12-point font. The point allocation and grading parameters are outlined in the grading rubric for this activity. Please download and print a copy of the grading rubric to use as a reference.