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The New Empires: Corporations
Whether you work for a corporation or you just have an interest in these groups of people, you'll find that there's a lot worth knowing about corporations and their history. At the most basic level, corporations are legal entities in their own right. That means that they're legally separate from the people who own them and the people who work for them. While corporations can be formed for just about any reason, you'll mostly find that this term refers to people pooling their resources for business reasons.
One of the big things you should remember when looking at corporations is the fact that they're a product of corporate law. That means there's a balance that needs to be struck between shareholders, who invest the capital needed by the company to function, and employees, who provide services and labor. As time goes on, more and more corporations appear in the business landscape. That's because the size and large amount of revenue corporations tend to exhibit allow them to supply benefits that smaller businesses just can't match.
Corporations can be traced as far back as the Roman era. The word corporation actually comes from a Latin term - corpus - which means body. In this case, it refers to a number of separate people acting as a single unit. Even as far back as the Roman period, groups of people carried on business acting as a single unit. However, the Romans weren't alone in this practice. This was also done in the Maurya Empire of Ancient India. In the medieval period, churches and cities became incorporated, too. There was a lot of interest in creating corporations because they offered a very necessary kind of support. Corporations promised security, and even created a type of immortality.
The basic goal of most corporations is to ensure that institutions last longer than just one person. The oldest corporation in the world is probably the Stora Kopparberg mining company. Founded by a charter signed in 1347 by King Magnus Erikson of Sweden, this corporation is still active today. Similar corporations in history include the Dutch East India Company and Hudson's Bay Company, although they have since been dissolved. Like the Stora Kopparberg company, the Dutch East India company's charter was given by a monarch. This company capitalized on the European desire for spices, taking over trade in the Moluccan Islands.
Despite the fact that we tend to view modern corporations as huge monoliths located inside of tall buildings, we should remember that there's more to them. All corporations work towards their common goal. Even though earlier corporations lacked computers, copiers, and office chairs, they still had a lot in common with the big businesses of today. In the end, the point is still the same.
About the Author Survey the reach of corporate power from the comfort of your own office chair. Swivel, lean, get a massage -- there is no end to what modern office chairs can do.
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