Which word?

Corporation vs. Company

In both BrE and AmE, the word company can refer to any type of business organization, but it is usually refers to a business that has been incorporated (= created according to a particular set of laws). The laws of different countries allow for different types of companies to be created. The type company is shown by an abbreviation after its name. In AmE, but not BrE, the word corporation is used after the name of a business to show that it has been incorporated. In BrE, the word corporation is usually used for foreign or international companies or public organizations: a multinational corporation; the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Task 11. Practice reading the following words.

abbreviation [ֽəbri:vi`eı∫ən] A.D. [ֽeı`di:] although [O:l`ðəu] / [O:l`ðou] association [əֽsəusi`eı∫ən] 78% / [əֽsəu∫i`eı∫ən] 22% co. [kəu] / [kou] common [`kOmən] / [`kα:mən] company [`kAmpəni] corporation [ֽkO:pə`reı∫ən] / [ֽkO:rpə`reı∫ən] debt [det] definition [ֽdefə`nı∫ən] to emphasize [`empfəsaız] empire [`empaıə] / [`empaıər] employee [ım`plOıi:] / [ֽemplOı`i:] especially [ı`spe∫əli] incorporated [ın`kO:pəreıtıd] initial [ı`nı∫əl] jurisdiction [ֽGuərıs`dık∫ən] legal [`li:gəl] nature [`neıt∫ə] / [`neıt∫ər]

organization [ֽO:gənaı`zeı∫ən] / [ֽO:rgənə`zeı∫ən] owned [əund] / [ound] person [`pə:sən] personnel [ֽpə:sə`nel] precise [pri`saıs] private [`praıvət] public [`pAblık] to refer [ri`fə:] registered [`reGıstəd] / [`reGıstərəd] traced [treıst] transfer n [`træntsfə:] trust [trAst] type [taıp] various [`veəriəs] / [`veriəs] to vary [`veəri] / [`veri] whether [`weðə] / [`hweðə] / [`weðər] whose [hu:z]

Task 12. Read the text.

Talking about Companies

A company is a form of business organization. Its precise definition varies.

The word company is traced from 1150 A.D. The use of the term in a sense of “business association” was first recorded in 1553. The abbreviation co. dates from 1769.

Generally, a company may be a corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, fund, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not.

A company may be called an enterprise, especially to emphasize its risk-taking nature. A large company mainly owned by one person or family is a business empire.

There are various types of company that can be formed in different jurisdictions.

Limited company in the UK is a company whose owners have responsibility for paying only a limited amount of the company’s debt.

A registered company is the most common type of company. A company may be registered either as a public limited company or a private company.

Public companies are large British companies whose shares can be publicly traded, often (although not always) on a regulated stock exchange. A public limited company must have a name ending with the initials “Plc”. Private companies do not have publicly traded shares, and often contain restrictions on transfers of shares.

In legal terms, the owners of a company are normally referred to as the “members.” In a company limited by shares, this will be the shareholders.

The people who work for a company, all the people on its payroll, are its employees, personnel, staff, workers or workforce. Those who lead and organize the work of the staff are referred to as management.

People in a company, its employees hold different positions. The relationship between those employees with different positions makes organization structure.