Business is an organised commercial activity that revolves around the monetary motive of profit. Businesses can be for-profit organisations that exist solely to make money or non-profit ones that invest any profits in a particular cause. They can be legal entities that operate in a variety of ways including limited liability companies, partnerships and corporations or they may be organised as trusts or charities. They can be tiny operations in a single industry or massive enterprises that span industries globally.
A business article is a piece of written content that provides information of relevance or importance to a specific audience. It can take the form of a step-by-step guide or how to articles that help readers accomplish a task, case studies and surveys, or comment pieces about major business issues such as new laws or regulatory changes.
Generally speaking, the term business refers to any entity that engages in commercial, industrial or professional activity. This activity can be conducted for profit or not-for-profit and it can be conducted in a variety of ways including retailing, manufacturing, transport and services. It can also be classified by the type of industry in which it operates such as music, banking and the food industry. Moreover, the word can be used in combination with other words to form adjectives such as e-business or agribusiness.
To get down to business means to concentrate on serious matters or to deal with something important: ‘She really got down to business when she finished the report’. The phrase can also be used informally to imply that someone is making things difficult for another: ‘She gave him the business with her needless run-around’. Other synonyms for the word include commerce, trade, industry and traffic.
In modern times, business has come under intense scrutiny due to unethical practices by some firms and the perception that people who run businesses are not always in it for the benefit of consumers or even their own shareholders. This has eroded trust and led to calls for more restrictions on business. However, many businesses believe that they should be free to act as they see fit because they are a source of economic growth and the public good. Others, though, argue that limiting the role of business leaves society vulnerable to despoilers. They also point out that, given the time lag between when laws are passed and when they are enforced, businesses can often appear to be in the wrong. They therefore need to be more proactive in addressing ethical concerns.