1. Companies

A company’s activities may be spread over different sites. A company’s most senior managers usually work in its head office or headquarters (HQ). Some managers have their own individual offices, but in many businesses, most employees work in open-plan offices: large areas where many people work together. In large organizations there is a human resources department or the personnel department. The people who work for a company are its employees, personnel, staff, workers or workforce. They can’t manage. Only managers, executives and directors have real manage power.

Non-executive directors are not managers of the company; they are outsiders, often directors of other companies who have particular knowledge of the industry or of particular areas.

Most companies are made up of three groups of people: the shareholders (who provide the capital), the management and the workforce.

At the top of the company hierarchy is the Board of Directors, headed by the Chairperson or President. The board is responsible for policy decisions and strategy. It will usually appoint a Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who was overall responsibility for the running of the business. Senior managers or company officers head the various departments or functions within the company, which may include Marketing, Public Relations, IT, Personnel, Finance, Production, Research and Development, etc.

Companies need customers. Some companies provide goods such as clothes, cars and food. Other companies provide services, for example, insurance, banking, IT or training.

Companies want repeat business, in other words, they want customers to buy from them again and again. TO win customer loyalty, many companies have a code of practice, or set of rules, for customer care. The code of practice explains what the customer can expect of the company. Customers can complain about the service, or help the receive and the goods they buy.

Companies are involved in many activities, for example buying, selling, marketing and production, in a range of different industries, such as information technology, telecommunication, film and car manufacture. Many well-known companies are multinational. There are companies which operate in a number of countries. Multinationals often have a complicated structure. There usually a patent or holding company. This company owns other companies or parts of other companies. These other companies are called subsidiaries.

For example IKEA is privately-held, international home products retailer that sells flat pack furniture, accessories, and bathroom and kitchen items in their retail stores around the world. The company which pioneered flat-pack design furniture at affordable prices is now the world’s largest furniture retailer. IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden. As of August 2009 the chain has 301 stores in 37 countries, most of them in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

The IKEA Website contains information about 12000 products and is the closest representation of the entire IKEA range. The IKEA concept is based on offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to effort them.

The IKEA corporate structure is divided into two main parts: operations and franchising. Of the IKEA stores in 36 countries, 235 are run by the INGKA Holding. The remaining 30 stores are run by franchisees outside of the INGKA Holding.

INGKA Holding is not the independent company, but is wholly owned by the Stiching Ingka Foundation which Kamprad established in 1982 in the Netherlands as a tax-exempt, not-for-profit foundation. The Ingka Foundation is controlled by a five-member executive committee than is chaired by Kamprad, includes his wife and attorney.

In 2008 its revenue was 22 milliard and in 2009 number of employees was 123000.