STANDARD CE.10a
Types of Businesses
Role of Entrepreneurship

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the structure and operation of the United States economy by:

a) describing the types of business organizations and the role of entrepreneurship.

What are the basic types of profit-seeking business structures?

There are three basic ways that businesses organize to earn profits.

Basic types of business ownership
 

• Proprietorship

A form of business organization with one owner who takes all the risks and all the profits.

• Partnership

A form of business organization with two or more owners who share the risks and the profits.

• Corporation

A form of business organization that is authorized by law to act as a legal person regardless of the number of owners. Owners share the profits. Owner liability is limited to investment.

What is an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneur:

• A person who takes a risk to produce goods and services in search of profit
• May establish a business according to any of the three types of organizational structures

Entrepreneurs play an important role in all three business organizations.
 

STANDARD CE.10b
How Consumers, Businesses, and Markets Interact (Circular Flow)

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the structure and operation of the United States economy by:

b) explaining the circular flow that shows how consumers (households), businesses (producers), and markets interact.

How do resources, goods and services, and money flow among individuals, businesses, and governments in a market economy?

Resources, goods and services, and money flow continuously among households, businesses, and markets in the United States economy.

Economic flow:

• Individual and business saving and investment provide financial capital that can be borrowed for business expansion and increased consumption.

Individuals (households) own the resources used in production, sell the resources, and use the income to purchase products.

Businesses (producers) buy resources; make products that are sold to individuals, other businesses, and the government; and use the profits to buy more resources.

Governments use tax revenue from individuals and businesses to provide public goods and services.

STANDARD CE.10c
Financial Institutions Encourage Saving and Investing

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the structure and operation of the United States economy by:

c) explaining how financial institutions encourage saving and investing.

How do financial institutions encourage saving and investing?

Private financial institutions act as intermediaries between savers and borrowers.
 
Characteristics of private financial institutions:

• Include banks, savings and loans, credit unions, and securities brokerages
• Receive deposits and make loans
• Encourage saving and investing by paying interest on deposits

STANDARD CE.10d
Global Economy and Technological Innovations

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the structure and operation of the United States economy by:

d) examining the relationship of Virginia and the United States to the global economy, with emphasis on the impact of technological innovations.

Why do Virginia and the United States trade with other nations?

Virginia and the United States pursue international trade in order to increase wealth.

Global EconomyWorldwide markets in which the buying and selling of goods and services by all nations takes place

Reasons that states and nations trade:
• To obtain goods and services they cannot produce or produce efficiently themselves
• To buy goods and services at a lower cost or a lower opportunity cost
• To sell goods and services to other countries
• To create jobs

Virginia and the United States specialize in the production of certain goods and services which promotes efficiency and growth.

What is the impact of technological innovation on world trade?

Impact of technological innovations:

• Innovations in technology (e.g., the Internet) contribute to the global flow of information, capital, goods, and services.

• The use of such technology also lowers the cost of production.