Efforts to protect the rights of consumers are the basis of consumer advocacy, also called consumerism. Consumer advocacy has a long history in the United States. Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle (1906), describing deplorable worker-safety and unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry led “muckrakers” to challenge business practices.

Consignment is an arrangement in which the owner (consignor) delivers PRODUCTs to a seller (consignee), with the seller acting as agent for the owner in the sales process. The seller does not own the products; rather, the owner retains title to the products until they are sold. At that time the seller receives a commission for assisting with the sale of the item.

Consent decree refers to a judicial order agreed to by all parties in a litigation. Thus it typically embodies a litigation settlement, most commonly the settlement of a public (government) prosecution.

A conglomerate is a business that operates in more than one market. Usually conglomerates produce and sell many dissimilar PRODUCTs for different markets.

A conflict of interest can arise in almost any business situation where the well-being of individuals and businesses may differ. In business a conflict of interest exists when an employee’s interests conflict with those of their employer, which may make the employee unable to represent the employer effectively.

The Conference Board is an international business organization headquartered in New York City. As stated on their website the Conference Board was created in 1916 during a period of intense criticism of “big business,” and is a nonprofit group with a twofold purpose: “to improve the business enterprise system and enhance the contribution of business to society.”

Computer-aided design, engineering, and manufacturing (CAD, CAE, and CAM, respectively) are three stages in the industrial process that utilize computers to aid in the PRODUCTION of goods and SERVICES.

The Comptroller of the Currency directs the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks. The office also supervises the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the OCC has six district offices and an office in London to supervise the international activities of national banks.

Compounding is the process of finding an unknown future value from a known present value. Using a time line, compounding is moving forward in time from the present to some point in the future. Given the time value of money (assuming that INTEREST RATES are always positive), future values are always larger than present values.

See MARKET INTELLIGENCE; SOCIETY FOR COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS.

Every day American businesses supply myriad products and services to consumers. The rational consumer is looking for the best value that can be found within his/her budget.

Competition has many meanings depending on the context in which the term is used. Almost all American businesspeople will say their market is highly competitive. Such business owners are concerned with both the actions of current competitors and the threats of potential competitors.

Compensation and benefits comprise the total rewards package that an employee receives for performing a job. Compensation is considered direct pay, since it is the amount of money the employee receives.

The law of comparative advantage is the principle that firms, people, or countries should engage in those activities for which their advantage over others is the largest or their disadvantage is the smallest. First articulated by English economist David Ricardo (1772–1823), the law of comparative advantage demonstrated that both weak and strong nations benefit from trade by doing those things they do relatively more efficiently than others.

Comparable worth (also referred to as comparable pay or pay equity) is the idea that workers should receive equal pay for work of equal value. Comparable worth is most closely associated with differences in pay by gender.

Stock is an ownership interest in a corporation. If a CORPORATION issues only one type of equity security, it is called common stock, the kind normally issued by corporations. The common stockholders are the residual EQUITY in the corporation and are the only class of stockholders to have voting rights, one vote for each common share owned.

Common law, also called case law or Anglo-American law, refers to the legal system developed in the common-law courts of England since the Middle Ages and transferred to much of the English-speaking world and Commonwealth nations, including the United States. It is distinguished from the civil-law system used in continental Europe and in the areas of other continents conquered and ruled by continental nations.

Commodity markets are markets where basic goods and materials are exchanged. Commodity markets can be as small as a local farmers market or as large as the CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE (CBOT), the first commodity exchange in the United States (established in 1848). Generally commodity markets are located near historic centers of PRODUCTION of major commodities or in major cities like Chicago and New York.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates FUTURES and OPTIONS markets in the United States, protecting market participants against market manipulation, abusive trading practices, and FRAUD. Created in 1974, the CFTC was a response to growing use and changes in futures and options markets.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a federally owned and operated entity, was created to stabilize, support, and protect American farmers’ income and prices.

Commercial paper is a debt instrument—that is, a PROMISSORY NOTE issued by large CORPORATIONs that are also financially strong. To minimize the risk associated with commercial paper, it is traded among only the largest, most financially stable corporations, MUTUAL FUNDS, INSURANCE companies, banks, and other large intermediaries. Commercial paper is unsecured and short-term, with maturities ranging from 30 to 270 days.

Commercial law concerns the sale and distribution of goods, the financing of credit transactions on the security of goods sold, and legal documents related to such transactions (negotiable instruments).

Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to “regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” This section is referred to as the “commerce clause.”

Commerce Business Daily (CBD) is a federal government publication that lists notices of proposed government procurement actions, contract awards, sales of government property, and other procurement information. A daily publication, CBD usually contains 500–1,000 notices, each of which appears only once.