Electronics Manufacturing – M528
Company limited by shares
The formation of companies limited by shares is closely related to the use of
financial capital:
- Factory and production equipment
- Transportation
- Inventory
- Insurance of risks
Why is additional financial capital needed for inventory and insurance of risks?
The structure for
production of goods have evolved:
- Craftsman
- Family
- Guilds
- Cooperatives
- Companies and factories
What is
the difference between
craftsman and
guild structures with regards to:
- Process for developing skills
- Access and availability of labor
- Responsibility for quality
There have been different
methods of creating, known as
incorporating, companies limited by shares:
- Original method in England was by Royal charter.
- Royal charter was expanded with private act of Parliament.
- The Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 by Parliament further expanded access with a standard process.
- The Limited Liability Act 1855 defined the concept of limited liability.
- The Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 improved the registration process.
- In the UK today, companies must be registered with Companies House and comply with the Companies Act 2006.
A company limited by shares is a separate
legal entity:
- Separate from shareholders
- Perpetual from changes of shareholders
The concept of
limited liability was one of the attractions of using companies limited by shares:
- Members not responsible for debt of the company.
- Members are exempt from bankruptcy proceedings.
- Members are not subject to additional calls for capital by managers.
What is
the difference between a
one person company versus an
employee of a company with regards to:
- Liability
- Ownership
- Skills required for production
- Financial capital
The concept of
company stock has evolved with time and industry:
- Joint-stock capital
- Transferable subscriptions
- Corporate shares
- Equity assets
Is company stock personal property?
Company stock is one of many early forms of
traded financial instruments:
- Government bonds
- Insurance
- Commodities
- Foreign currencies
- Company stock
There have been different
markets for trading company stock:
- Personal associations
- Pubs and coffeehouses
- Exchange Alley
- The Stock Exchange
Aspects of factories and companies that have been contested for control:
- Schedules
- Rate of work
- Pricing of products
- Marketing of products
- Share of profits
What are
examples of methods used to control companies by:
- Workers
- Managers
- Shareholders
- Governments
- Regulatory bodies
- Shareholder activists
Management of companies have developed gradually and continues to evolve:
- Owner/entrepreneur
- Internal contracting
- Craft control
- Separation of labor and managers (Taylorism)
- Flexible semi-skilled labor (Fordism and the assembly line)
- Supply chain management
Capabilities model of a firm:

What do the concentric circles in the capabilities model indicate?
Coordination model of a firm:

What is meant by integration in the model above?
Sales model of a firm:

How are constraints and integration expressed in the sales model?
Concept of a
business model:
- What a business does, and
- How a business makes money doing those things.
What is the relationship between a business model and business strategy?