A corporation is a legal entity owned by stockholders that is authorized by law to act as a single person. As such, the affairs of the corporation are separate from those of the owners, which gives them limited LIABILITY and thus a financial advantage. Under most circumstances, the owners’ liability is limited to the CAPITAL they have invested in the company.

Corporate welfare is a term used to describe special programs that benefit only specific CORPORATIONs or industries but not offered to others. In the United States, WELFARE— benefits to individuals or families for which no product or service is received in exchange—is a controversial area of social policy.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is business decisionmaking linked to ethical values, compliance with laws and regulations, and respect for people, communities, and the environment. A relatively new concept in western capitalism, CSR recognizes that CORPORATIONs are a legal entity chartered by society.

Corporate security aims to protect the safety and viability of a business organization. Since September 11, 2001, corporate security has become an increasingly important issue. A survey of corporate executives a few months after the World Trade Center attack reported increased concern about mail processing, travel, protection of employees and INFRASTRUCTURE, and other security issues.

Corporate governance—the consideration and evaluation of business and social goals by corporate leaders— addresses the ways in which CORPORATIONs balance the interests of SHAREHOLDERS, workers, and the community.

Corporate divestiture is the disposing or relinquishing of a company’s ASSETS or a portion of its business by way of sale, exchange, or liquidation. A CORPORATION may want to sell off a poorly performing division or spin off a subsidiary company through an exchange of stock with SHAREHOLDERS, or it may be forced to liquidate assets as a result of legal action.

Culture can be described as the learned behavior patterns of any specific period, race, or people. Similarly, corporate culture refers to the beliefs, behaviors, values, and norms of an individual CORPORATION or of an organization. A corporation develops policies, procedures, and guidelines in order to establish and convey the concerns and priorities of the company.

Corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) is a series of rules established by Congress in 1975 to increase fuel efficiency of automobiles produced and sold in the United States. Initiated as a response to the oil crises of that time, CAFE standards apply to all manufacturers who sell cars and light trucks in the United States. The standards are administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The copyright law, Title 17 of the United States Code, includes all amendments enacted through the end of the second session of the 106th Congress in 2000. It includes the Copyright Act of 1976 and all subsequent amendments to copyright law; the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984, as amended; and the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act, as amended. The Copyright Office is responsible for registering claims under all three acts.

Copy is a term for the words and illustrations used in an advertisement; copy thrust is what the words and illustrations should communicate to the target audience. A central part of any ADVERTISING campaign, copy is usually developed by advertising specialists for their clients.

A cooperative is a business owned and controlled by the people who use its SERVICES and whose benefits are derived and distributed equitably on the basis of use. Cooperative user-owners are generally called members.

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties creating obligations (promises) that are recognized and enforceable by law. For example, the author of this book and its publisher have entered into a lengthy written contract detailing each others’ obligations.

Contestable market theory suggests that in markets where the costs of entering and leaving are very low, existing firms are continually threatened by the entry of new competitors. Contestable market theory challenges one of the assumptions of PERFECT COMPETITION: that a large number of firms is needed to maintain COMPETITION and eliminate economic PROFITs.

Consumption taxes are the various taxes imposed on the purchase of goods and SERVICES. Sales, excise, and valueadded tax (VAT) are the most common types of consumption taxes, with sales taxes being the most visible type. Many international visitors are shocked the first time a tax is added to the price of the PRODUCT they are purchasing.

In everyday living, consumption is the act of using or consuming things, but in business consumption refers to the level of current spending for new goods and services; in economics and business statistics, it is the amount of spending by households for currently produced goods and SERVICES. The purchase of a used car or home is not included in current consumption statistics, because it was included during the period of time when it was purchased.

Consumers Union (CU) publishes Consumer Reports magazine, a premier independent source of information for American consumers. Founded in 1936 by a group of concerned professors, labor leaders, journalists, and engineers, CU is known for its testing and rating of consumer PRODUCTs. To maintain its independence, CU purchases every product tested and does not accept grants. Instead it relies on member subscriptions, which were only 4,000 in 1936 but today exceed 5 million.

Consumer protection refers to a wide variety of regulations, primarily issued and enforced at the federal level by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), affecting American consumers. Consumer protection includes regulation of consumer credit, product safety, warranties, and TELEMARKETING.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is a federal agency created in 1972. The CPSC’s mission is to “protect the public against unreasonable risks of injuries and deaths associated with consumer PRODUCTs.”

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a statistical measure of the average prices paid by consumers for a typical “market basket” of goods and SERVICES. Measuring the rate of change in prices is important to policy makers.

Passed in 1968, the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) protects employees from being discharged by their employers when their wages have been garnished and limits the amount of employees’ earnings which may be garnished per week.

A consumer credit counseling service (CCCS) is a nonprofit organization that assists individuals and families in the United States with BUDGETING and credit resolution. CCCSs are members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), which was established in 1951 by retail credit companies to provide financial counseling and education services. There are approximately 1,300 CCCSs in the country and over 1.5 million households who utilize their services annually.

The consumer buying process is the series of steps consumers typically go through in making a purchase decision.

Consumer behavior is comprised of the processes and factors consumers use to make purchase decisions. To most people, consumer behavior just “is.”

Consumer bankruptcy or insolvency occurs when individuals with regular INCOMEs can no longer afford to meet their payment obligations. Consumer bankruptcy is both a legal and business concern.