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There are many definitions for the term ” company “, most of them point towards a group of people who work for a common objective, with the purpose of obtaining a benefit and satisfying the consumer. According to international law, a company includes a set of capital, labor and administration in order to satisfy some market need. Companies require multiple elements to function and achieve their objectives, for example, human resources, material goods and financial resources. In this text we will talk about the characteristics of a company so that you can better understand its meaning, we will also mention some of the types of companies that exist.
General characteristics of the companies
Here are some of the most important characteristics of companies:
1) Company identification
Every company has a name that identifies it, both internally and externally, it has a verified address where it carries out its productive and administrative activities and possesses a patrimony made up of economic and financial means, rights and obligations with which it carries out its activities.
2) The Mission
Describes the reason or motive for which the company is created, the mission traces a path from what is done in the present to what is intended to be achieved.
3) The Vision
It’s a corporate goal statement, a description of what the company intends to be in the future.
4) Corporate Image
Among the general characteristics of the companies we can mention the corporate image as one of the most relevant. This image defines your personality and is a reflection of your values, with which customers feel identified. The corporate image goes far beyond showing the brand of a company, a correct image strategy will achieve loyalty to the customer who, by feeling valued and identified, will maintain an important communication thread with the company. In a highly competitive environment, image makes a difference, regardless of the types of companies that must.
5) Origin of Capital
Depending on where your money comes from, a business can be:
- Public: that which has been financed and is administered by the state. In many cases these companies have been created with the purpose of solving some social need.
- Private: it is one that has been constituted by natural or legal persons, non-governmental.
- Mixed: these companies are a merger of public and private. The proportion in terms of capital and management can vary.
6) Legal Constitution
The legal form of each company is determined based on the number of partners, the capital to be invested and the responsibility to be assumed. In the case of Spain, depending on these characteristics, there are more than 20 types of companies or legal forms. As for your liability, it can be limited or unlimited. Depending on the number of partners, if you are going to have one, two, or more. According to capital, which starts from zero for the self-employed to capital of at least 10 million euros for Reciprocal Guarantee Companies.
7) Purpose of the company
The purpose is another of the general characteristics of the most important companies. Although it is not the most common, a company may have been created without the intention of generating profit, in which case the company manages resources but does not obtain profits since it does not pursue an economic purpose. For these types of companies the purpose is usually educational, cultural, welfare, or social. On the other hand, there are the most common companies, those that are focused on obtaining economic benefits, these organizations produce goods or services with a lucrative purpose.
8) Company size
The size of the company is related to the number of people who work in it. The smallest are known as micro-enterprises and have less than 10 workers, in a small company between 10 and 49 people work, in a medium company between 50 and 249 workers and, finally, a large company is one that has more than 250 workers.
9) Sector in which the company operates
According to the nature and activities that each company carries out, it is in one of the following productive sectors:
- Primary: companies that are dedicated to the extraction of raw materials, transformation into semi-processed products or agriculture.
- Secondary: in this sector are the manufacturing companies. Those that, from raw materials, make semi-finished products or final products. This sector is also known as the industrial sector.
- Tertiary: this is the service sector dedicated to other companies, individuals or the state.
- Quaternary: corresponds to the management of the information area, intellectual work or the knowledge economy and services that cannot be mechanized.
10) Origin of the company
The characteristics of a company can also be different depending on its origin:
- National: its capital comes from residents of a certain country.
- Foreigners: are those that are incorporated in the country, but their capital is not contributed by nationals.
- The mixed ones: they are a combination of the previous two.
As you have seen, there are many factors that are related to the characteristics of a company and that help us to make a classification of organizations according to specific elements. We could even continue adding features to the previous list. For example: depending on their economic activity, companies can be agricultural, commercial, service, among others. Depending on their commercial performance or volume, they can be wholesalers, retailers or commission agents.