Corporation: Definition

A corporation is a business or organization formed by a group of people, and it has rights and liabilities separate from those of the individuals involved. It may be a nonprofit organization engaged in activities for the public good; a municipal corporation, such as a city or town; or a private corporation (the subject of this article), which has been organized to make a profit. In the eyes of the law, a corporation has many of the same rights and responsibilities as a person. It may buy, sell, and own property; enter into leases and contracts; and bring lawsuits. It pays taxes. It can be prosecuted and punished (often with fines) if it violates the law. The chief advantages are that it can exist indefinitely, beyond the lifetime of any one member or founder, and that it offers its owners the protection of limited personal liability. A corporation is a separate legal entity that has been incorporated through a legislative or registration process established through legislation. Incorporated entities have legal rights and liabilities that are distinct from their employees and shareholders,[1] and may conduct business as either a profit-seeking business or not for profit business. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e. by an ad hoc act granted by a monarch or passed by a parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration. In addition to legal personality, registered corporations tend to have limited liability, have shareholders who own or hold shares of a type of security commonly called stock, and are controlled by a board of directors who are normally elected or appointed by the shareholders. In American English the word corporation is widely used to describe large incorporated businesses.[2] In British English and in the commonwealth countries, the term limited company is more widely used to describe the same sort of entity while the word corporation encompasses all incorporated entities. In American English, the word company can include entities such as partnerships that would not be referred to as companies in British English as they are not a separate legal entity. Despite not being human beings, corporations, as far as the law is concerned, as legal persons have many of the same rights and responsibilities as natural people do. Corporations can exercise human rights against real individuals and the state,[3][4] and they can themselves be responsible for human rights violations.[5] Corporations can be "dissolved" either by statutory operation, order of court, or voluntary action on the part of shareholders. Insolvency may result in a form of corporate failure, when creditors force the liquidation and dissolution of the corporation under court order,[6] but it most often results in a restructuring of corporate holdings. Corporations can even be convicted of criminal offenses, such as fraud and manslaughter. However corporations are not considered living entities in the way that humans are

corporation n. an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person to carry on business (or other activities), which can sue or be sued, and (unless it is nonprofit) can issue shares of stock to raise funds with which to start a business or increase its capital. One benefit is that a corporation's liability for damages or debts is limited to its assets, so the shareholders and officers are protected from personal claims, unless they commit fraud. For private business corporations the Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State of the incorporating state must include certain information, including the name of the responsible party or parties (incorporators and agent for acceptance of service), the amount of stock it will be authorized to issue, and its purpose. In some states the purpose may be a general statement of any purpose allowed by law, while others require greater specificity. Corporation shareholders elect a board of directors, which in turn adopts bylaws, chooses the officers and hires top management (which in smaller corporations are often the directors and/or shareholders). Annual meetings are required of both the shareholders and the Board, and major policy decisions must be made by resolution of the Board (which often delegates much authority to officers and committees). Issuance of stock of less than $300,000, with no public solicitation and relatively few shareholders, is either automatically approved by the state commissioner of corporations or requires a petition outlining the financing. Some states are considered lax in supervision, have low filing fees and corporate taxes and are popular incorporation states, but corporations must register with Secretary of States of other states where they do substantial business as a "foreign" corporation. Larger stock offerings and/or those offered to the general public require approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission after close scrutiny and approval of a public "prospectus" which details the entire operation of the corporation. There are also non-profit (or not for profit) corporations organized for religious, educational, charitable or public service purposes. Public corporations are those formed by a municipal, state or federal government for public purposes such as operating a dam and utility project. A close corporation is made up of a handful of shareholders with a working or familial connection which is permitted to operate informally without resolutions and regular Board meetings. A de jure corporation is one that is formally operated under the law, while a de facto corporation is one which operates as if it were legal, but without the Articles of Incorporation being valid. Corporations can range from the Corner Mini-Mart to General Electric. (See: articles of incorporation, bylaws, board of directors, close corporation, public corporation, de jure corporation, de facto corporation, shareholder, stock, securities)

Motivation
Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological one that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas. Motivation may be rooted in a basic impulse to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure. It can also originate from specific physical needs such as eating, sleeping or resting, and sex. Motivation is an inner drive to behave or act in a certain manner. It's the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day.[1] These inner conditions such as wishes, desires, goals, activate to move in a particular direction in behavior. In summary, motivation can be defined as the purpose for, or psychological cause of, an action It's hard to overemphasize the importance of having enthusiastic, committed employees. A wellmotivated work force will almost always allow a company to grow faster than one that's lackadaisical or even prone to sabotaging your growth initiatives. Everybody who works for you needs to know where they stand and how they're doing compared to your expectations of them. Many companies have formal review systems to let employees know how their performances stack up. Reviews may be conducted as often as every three months, but annual reviews are most popular. Each review should go over the goals that were set when the employee started the job or during the last performance evaluation. Then the review should examine how well the employee has done toward reaching these goals. The employee should be asked to rate his or her performance, in addition to relying on objective measurements such as sales figures. You and the employee should then discuss the desirability of trying to reach goals that haven't yet been achieved, and you should both set goals for the future. But reviews and evaluations are--often justifiably--viewed as little more than formalities that accomplish little or nothing in the way of true feedback. To make formal evaluations go more smoothly, and to eliminate any surprises on the employee's part, give feedback at the time something occurs to warrant it. Don't underestimate the power of feedback. It should be simple, honest and unfailingly constructive. Try to make sure that every piece of feedback you provide contains the following elements. It should:

Highlight something good the employee has accomplished

Point out something that needs improvement Contain specific suggestions about how the employee can improve

Don't neglect to say something positive. Even making note of the amount of effort the employee has expended can make the employee more receptive to feedback. If you can't think of a positive comment and specific suggestions for improvement, it's better to say nothin

5 Tips For Motivating Employees

As we move into 2012 and the economy around the world continues to struggle, many managers are finding it more and more difficult to continue motivating employees especially with many employee perks being cut out to lower costs. As a manager, what can you do to keep employees motivated, even when times are tough? Try these 5 tips: Tip #1: Act as a role model and help inspire employees to identify what they are passionate about at work; then provide them with some projects in their area of passion or interest a happy employee is a motivated employee! Tip #2: Clearly define the organizations vision, mission and strategy as well as the goals and objectives of each employee (and include your employees in the crafting of these). Make sure everyone on your team understands the key role they play in contributing to the success of the department. Ensure each employee is in alignment toward the overall strategy so your group can work as a team and help each other out. Positive team energy will help motivate everyone. Tip #3: Empower your employees to succeed and delegate challenging and meaningful work in general, people want to succeed and they want to continue learning and growing, so provide them with opportunities. Tip #4: Work with each employee to create their own personal development plan. Then, provide them with coaching and mentoring and help them increase their skills and their sense of competence and accomplishment. Tip #5: Monitor the progress of your employees towards accomplishing their goals and objectives then provide rewards to reinforce positive behavior, increase their sense of progress and keep them motivated. This can include recognition in front of peers and other rewards that dont cost a lot of money but are meaningful to the person. Motivating employees to learn, to grow, to try challenging new assignments, and to work together as a team can be incredibly fulfilling. Seeing the look on someones face when theyve succeeded at something they never though was possible is a gift itself.