The Corporation

1. The Corporation was made to provide a financial device that did not have the drawbacks of the single ownership and the partnership. The classical definition was given by Chief Justice of the U.S. John Marshall in the Dartmouth College case in 1819: 'A corporation is an artificial being invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law'. Corporations are owned by stockholders, who have shares of stock of a certain company. The decisions of the stockholders usually affect business operations. Profits are called dividends. Profits may be also reinvested in the corporation. Corporations usually handle more business than individual owners and partnerships, but they are more difficult to establish. In the United States of America there are 12 million single proprietorships, 1.75 million partnerships and 3.25 million corporations. The advantages of the corporations are: large sums of money can be invested, the stockholders have limited liability, and the death of the owner or withdrawal from the company do not influence the business operations.

2. The corporate structure has a more permanent combination - the trust in which the stockholders of the corporation deposited their stock certificates with one or more trustees and got back trust certificates in return. Many drawbacks of such a practice have been revealed and the need to have some changes reflected further in reforms that resulted in the breaking up of the trusts. A new form of business organization has appeared, the so-called holding company. The holding company is a corporation that holds the common stock of other corporations.

3. Without any doubts, business became more competitive due to the fact that new and more complex corporate combinations have been formed. A merger is the absorption of one or more companies by another, in an amalgamation – when the corporations give up their individual charters and exchange their stock for that of the new corporation. In the 1960's and 1970's there was a great tendency of occurring different amalgamations under the influence of the merger movement. The conglomerates appeared on the scene. They brought under one management scores of companies belonging to industries which have not been related to each other. The number of mergers has grown enormously particularly in the middle of the 1980’s.

4. There is one more corporate combination which was formed at that period of time - that is the cartel. The cartel is a voluntary organization of private business concerns in order to coordinate marketing practices. It may engage in many spheres of business, namely in price fixing, limitation of production, the division of marketing territories, and the pooling of profits.

2. Ответьте письменно на вопросы после текста.

1) What is the classical definition of corporation?

2) When was a great tendency of occurring different amalgamations?

3) May the cartel engage in many spheres of business?

Какие предложения являются верными ?

1) The decisions of the stockholders usually affect business operations.

2) The advantages of the corporations are: small sums of money can be invested.

3) The holding company is a corporation that holds the common stock of other corporations.

Дополните предложения.

1) The decisions of the ____________ usually affect business operations.

2) A ___________ is the absorption of one or more companies by another.

3) The cartel is a __________ organization of private business concerns in order to coordinate marketing practices.

4) A new form of business organization has appeared, the so-called holding ___________.

5. Переведите следующие слова и словосочетания на английский язык:

поглощение, главный судья, акционер, доверенное лицо, частный бизнес.

Вариант 5