Corporation definition

Corporation: a collection of individuals dedicated to a common profitable goal.

The profitable corporation is relatively new in human history. The first, East India Company, was notorious both as a new invention and as a powerful entity distinct from the nation state. With the combined capital and influence of a quarter million people at its peak, it had the political power of a wealthy country. Its existence started and was maintained by one goal - to profit from controlled trade between India and Europe (The New Internationalist). Corporations today have the same features. They all consist of multiple investors, both owners and employees, who give their time and resources to the pursuit of a common objective with the design to receive more in return than they expend. Although other goals may exist, there is always a profit motive.

The recognition that corporations are made up of individuals is important. Where corporate leaders seek the good of their colleagues and clients and use their resources in a wise and environmentally healthy way, the power of their combined effort is a considerable force for good in the world. Where corporate leaders are negligent and greedy, much harm can come from the authority they possess. Therefore it is not the existence and absence of corporations which harm or help a nation, but the individuals who lead the corporation.

Recognizing the profit motive is also important. Not any group of individuals qualifies as a corporation (Al Lopata). Neither does a corporation exist where each corporate leader is dedicated to a different goal. At least, it will not exist for long.

The fact that the corporation has only existed for approx. 400 years surprises me. The knowledge that the corporation is a new concept in history emboldens me to view it less as a time-worn tradition and more as an evolving concept. It’s also valuable to know its existence and authority has come into question since it’s invention, and not only in recent events.

The recognition that corporations have been some of the most influential entities in history applies well to the pursuit of entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur must reckon with the reality that if his venture is successful, it will become a corporation. The decisions he makes along the way, especially the people he partners with, will impact whether the corporation is ultimately a force for good in his community and nation, or a force for harm. Therefore he must have, not only the goal of meeting a felt need at profit, but of building a corporation whose goal and existence brings good to the world.

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