Econ Essays

Unit 3

Essay 1
What are the differences between a stock holder and a sole proprietor, general partnership and franchisee

 Same: all owners of a company

 1. Sole proprietors are the only owners of their company 2. Stock holders own a piece of the company (large or small) 3. Stock holders liability is limited to the amount of stock they own 4. If business fails they lose only what they paid for for the stock

 5. Sole proprietor May lose not only the money they invested in the business, but also personal assets Since they are liable for all business debts

6. Stock holders
If they hold preferred stock, may take no part in making business decisions Even holders of common stock have a responsibility only for voting on policy suggested by the board of directors (but also electing the board of directors)

 7. Sole proprietors have complete responsibility, making all decisions for their business
They run much greater risks than stock holders do, but have the chance of gaining much greater satisfaction in running their company successfully

 8. Partnership/franchise may be small business, but franchise is part of a larger entity

This gives it the advantage of name recognition and possibly national advertising Company policies have been set by the franchisor, so the franchisee in effect, has access to all the people who helped make the franchise a success General partnership have only each others skill and knowledge to rely on They have no instant name recognition to attract customers And must pay for all their advertising If they have control decisions and policies regarding business are theirs to make If they decide to introduce a new product, they can Franchisees must follow the lead of the franchisor

Essay 2
Discuss Government action against discrimination in the job market

 Equal pay act of 1963 requires employers to pay same wages to male/female women performing the same job ($.76) Civil rights act of 1964 protected workers from discrimination based on race, sex, religion or national origin Also established equal employment opportunity commission

 Affirmative action
Begun in 1965 led by Pres. Johnson to address bias by companies doing business with federal government (leads to other companies following)

Extreme policy of quotas following to hire and promote women and minorities Some affirmative action has been overturned in court ruling its discrimination Legislation has protected access to education which improved ability to gain jobs/skills