Business Organizations Jeopardy!

MergersCorporations Sole Proprietors vs. Partnerships Other Organizations Potpourri

Mergers for 100 Provide an example (real or fake) of two companies forming a horizontal merger. Ex: Starbucks and Peet’s

Mergers for 200 Provide an example (real or fake) of a vertical merger of 3 different companies. Ex: Ford, Goodyear, Infinity

Mergers for 300 Provide an example (real or fake) of companies merging to acquire new product lines. Example: AT&T, Comcast, etc.

Mergers for 400 Explain why monopolies are heavily regulated and/or prohibited by the government. Restricts/eliminates competition, businesses can take advantage of consumers, etc.

Mergers for 500 Who controlled Standard Oil, and who was the president that first tried to “bust the trusts”? John D. Rockefeller; Theodore Roosevelt

Mergers for 600 Why do Comcast and Time Warner want to merge, and what is one argument they give as to why the merger should be allowed? Merger would lower costs. They say that they have no overlapping markets; they would not block competitors on their network

Corporations for 100 Who really has control of a corporation – owners or managers? Managers

Corporations for 200 What is a charter? Permission from the govt to form corporation and sell stock

Corporations for 300 Describe the concept of limited liability. In case of lawsuit, only the corporation will be affected, and the personal assets of the owners will remain safe

Corporations for 400 What are two disadvantages of a corporation? Double-taxation, more govt regulation, difficult/expensive to get charter, owners have little say in how business is run

Corporations for 500 How does the govt regulate corporations in order to protect consumers? Requires corporations to truthfully report on profits/losses so stockholders will be informed

Common stock: basic ownership, voting rights Preferred: non-voting, receives dividends first Corporations for 600 What is the difference between common stock and preferred stock?

Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for 100 Why are proprietorships easier than partnerships to start up? One person makes all decisions, etc.

Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for 200 How can partnerships be easier to run than proprietorships? Partners can have different strengths, together are a strong managerial unit

Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for 300 What is the difference between a general and limited partnership? General: 2 or more partners, all help manage Limited: at least one partner is investor only

Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for400 Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for 400 Why is it harder for proprietors to attract the best employees? Limited $$ to pay workers  limited skill/talent/motivation

Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for 500 Describe two disadvantages of partnerships ONLY. Conflict between partners, partners are responsible for each other’s actions

Sole Proprietors vs Partnerships for 600 Why is it more difficult for proprietors to raise capital to start a business? Proprietorships are riskier than partnerships/corporations, and banks want to loan money to reliable ventures

Other Organizations for 100 Provide one example of a professional organization. Ex: American Medical Assoc., American Bar Assoc.

Other Organizations for 200 What is the purpose of a civic/community organization? Provides goods and services for the betterment of the target group (charities, improving education)

Other Organizations for 300 What is the purpose of a producer co-op? Provides cheaper goods/supplies, better markets for products for members who help run the organization

Other Organizations for 400 What are three examples of demands that a labor union might make? Ex: higher wages, better working conditions, better benefits, etc.

Other Organizations for 500 Why does the government regulate public utilities? Public utilities are technically monopolies; govt protects consumers against unfair prices/practices

Other Organizations for 600 Provide two examples of the direct role of the government in the economy AND what it provides/provided. Ex: the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), electricity; USPS (mail service), FDIC (deposit insurance)

Potpourri for 100 What is a real-life example of a multinational? Ex: Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsubishi, Nabisco, Samsung, etc.

Potpourri for 200 What is depreciation? Value of something (ex: capital goods) decreases with time, wear and tear

Potpourri for 300 How can a company grow larger internally? Re-investing cash flow – invest in better technology, etc.

Potpourri for 400 Provide an explanation and example of a service co-op. Provides a service at a cheaper price for members; credit union

Potpourri for 500 What is diversification, and how can conglomerates benefit from this practice? If one company fails, the conglomerate has others that are strong to fall back on financially

Potpourri for 600 Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of an American company becoming a multinational. Adv: cheaper labor, product sold to more people Disadv: jobs outsourced overseas, potentially weaker US economy