http://99u.com/tips/7151/The-5-Types-of-Work-That-Fill-Your-Day
http://sourcesofinsight.com/6-personality-and-work-environment-types/
TYPES OF WORK
Full–Time Work
Employment that is based upon a contract of employment for a standard hours
engagement (generally between 35 to 40 hours per week). Full-time employees
are paid either a wage based upon an hourly rate or a set salary.
Part–Time Work
Work performed by any employee who is engaged for a number of hours, fixed or
varied, but are fewer than those specified as standards hours in the relevant award.
Some awards stipulate the maximum as well as minimum hours for which parttime
workers can be engaged. Part-time workers are entitled to accrue holiday
and other leave entitlements on a pro rata basis that is, the ratio of hours worked to
standard hours.
Casual Work
A casual worker is someone hired by an employer on an hourly or daily basis.
Casual workers should be employed to perform work of a short-term, irregular or
seasonal nature, either working full-time or part-time hours. Casual workers
usually receive a flat hourly rate plus an hourly loading ranging between 15% and
35%. The casual loading compensates for the lack of annual leave and sick leave.
Temporary/Contract Work
Temporary employees are often employed for a specific time period to complete a
particular project or to replace employees absent on leave. They generally accrue
entitlements such as annual and sick leave on a pro-rata basis.
Employment status and the type of contract of employment will determine
whether a temporary worker has access to unfair dismissal provisions in the
event that you are dismissed.
Working abroad : Types of work
Casual work
Working holidays are a popular way for students and graduates to earn money while travelling and seeing the world. Much of the work available is in the hospitality and tourism sectors, e.g. in hotels and bars or as a holiday rep. Other typical jobs can be as varied as fruit picking to au pairing. The developed economies of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America offer the best opportunities. Making speculative applications to potential employers, such as hotels, youth hostels, tour companies, etc., may bring good results. For casual work opportunities, see BUNAC and Go Gap Year .
Internships, placements and exchange programmes
A variety of short-term opportunities ranging between a few weeks and 18 months are available in a number of European and international organisations. These give you a chance to gain relevant experience.
Many students have the opportunity to spend time abroad as part of their course. This could either be studying at a partner university or doing a placement year in a sector relating to your course.
· Opportunities in Europe are available through the Erasmus European Exchange Programme.
· AIESEC (Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) the world’s largest international student organisation, offers international internships from 2-18 months.
· Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) can help students and new graduates find internships in the USA.
· IAESTE (The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience) is administered in the UK by the British Council and provides science, engineering and architecture undergraduates with paid work experience abroad relevant to their studies.
· Leonardo da Vinci Programme offers funded work placements in Europe, which are available through the European Union’s vocational training programme. All applications must be made by an organisation, so you cannot apply as an individual. However, some universities are members of this scheme, so ask at your careers service to see if this might be an option.
· Paid work in a sandwich year placement in a sector related to your degree is usually found with the help of your university, which holds employer presentations on jobs you can then apply for. Alternatively, you could find a placement yourself through speculative applications.
If your course does not include a year out, you may still be able to negotiate an individual placement year. Give your tutors a list of what you consider to be the advantages of a year abroad and how it would deepen your understanding of your subject. You will probably need to find the placement yourself but ask if your tutors have contacts in other countries that you can use. Be prepared to be proactive and persistent.
For additional information, see vacancies abroad.
Voluntary work
There are many organisations offering short-term volunteer opportunities aimed at students and graduates. These projects are often based in the developing world, working with local communities tackling issues around health, social care, education and conservation.
· Projects generally last from a couple of weeks to several months and are very diverse, ranging from working in an orphanage to assisting with reforestation programmes.
· The work is generally unpaid and many organisations ask you to finance your volunteering trip through sponsorship or other types of fundraising.
· For short-term volunteering opportunities you are not usually expected to have relevant experience, but a strong interest in helping others and a willingness to get involved and learn new skills are important.
For all volunteering opportunities, you should check the requirements, aims and philosophies of any agency to which you apply. Have a realistic idea of the contribution you can make and what is expected of you. Most agencies can put you in touch with a returned volunteer who can give you first-hand information.
Examples of organisations offering short-term opportunities are:
· BUNAC
· International Voluntary Service (IVS) in Britain
· Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)
Teaching
Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is a very popular way for new graduates without specialist experience and skills to obtain work overseas. Teachers are employed in commercial language schools, state schools, education and development organisations and large companies. There are also more structured teaching programmes specific to individual countries, such as Teach in China and the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme .
No particular degree discipline is required for teaching English overseas. However, advertised positions increasingly ask for a TEFL qualification. It is still possible to find positions that do not require a TEFL certificate, but the pay may be lower. Certain countries will not grant a visa to anyone without a TEFL qualification. Information on completing internationally recognised TEFL courses is available at i-to-i TEFL Courses. Further detailed information about entry and training routes, and where to find opportunities, is available at English as a foreign language teacher.
As well as opportunities to teach English as a foreign language, there are international schools operating all over the world in need of qualified teachers. Experienced teachers are recruited to teach the normal range of subjects at primary and secondary level. Defence cutbacks in Britain have reduced the teaching posts available in HM Forces schools.
Academic research and lecturing
Every year, large numbers of British citizens take up places at universities around the world to undertake postdoctoral research. The academic market is international in scope, and some British academics are successful in obtaining permanent posts in other countries.
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) publishes a regular bulletin of jobs in Commonwealth universities. European Researchers Mobility Portal (Euraxess) is a one-stop shop for researchers moving between EU countries and includes details of research vacancies, fellowships, grants and other practical information.
Research posts and lectureships are frequently advertised by individual institutions but details can also be found in relevant journals and through national recruitment services on the internet. Personal contact through collaboration and shared academic interests is also a key route to securing academic positions overseas.
Getting posts overseas can be competitive, and you must have a good academic record at undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral level.
Consultancy
There has been a steady growth in the volume of consulting business undertaken by British companies overseas in the last few years. This is particularly the case in the construction and utilities industries in areas such as China, India and the Middle East. Consultancy work, especially for experienced professionals, can be found with both large international companies and smaller niche businesses.
Creative industry
The creative arts industry offers good opportunities for work abroad, from touring musicians to artists promoting and selling their work. The UK has a leading reputation in the creative industries abroad, and there are various government initiatives supporting exports from the sector. Arts Council England discusses international opportunities on their website. The European Commission Culture Programme aims to promote cross-border mobility of those working in the sector. It is dedicated to bringing greater cultural cooperation between European countries and provides funding for various projects that help meet this objective.
Property
The overseas property market is becoming increasingly international and although there has been a surge in UK nationals buying a second home abroad, this tends to be dependent on international economic conditions. Opportunities exist for graduates to work in sales, marketing and administration although in order to get a position abroad, some experience of working in property in the UK is usually required.
Jobs are advertised through specialist recruitment agencies, such as Overseas Property Jobs.
For more detailed information on the possibilities of working abroad in certain sectors, see industry insights.
For information on taking a gap year see gap year.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/working_abroad_types_of_work.htm
Self-employment
For those with access to some capital and a marketable idea to exploit, setting up a business abroad may seem like an attractive option. Many British expatriates are self-employed and operate in a vast range of areas.
Types of business include:
· hospitality - e.g. bars, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and hotel/bed and breakfast establishments;
· tourism, sports and leisure - e.g. skiing or diving instructors;
· other services - e.g. holistic therapies or child minding (especially in large English speaking expat communities).
Remember though, that setting up a business overseas is a much bigger undertaking than becoming self-employed in the UK. In addition to the usual research and planning required for setting up any new enterprise, you will need to learn about the business context of the country in which you will be operating. The list below contains factors to consider.
· Legal issues and red tape - e.g. if you plan to open a bar, club or restaurant, you will need to be familiar with the country’s licensing laws.
· Tax regulations - these may be different from the UK.
· Finance - you should open a business bank account in the country before you go as this can sometimes take time to set up.
· Visa or other restrictions - you may need to register your business with the local authorities or there may be restrictions on foreign business ownership in some countries.
· Language and cultural issues - these may affect you more as a self-employed person than if you were working for an organisation.
As planning and setting up in business in a foreign country can be very complex, many people use the services of a specialist consultancy to advise them on the country’s regulations and help them work through the red tape. You may also be able to find useful advice and information on government and chamber of commerce websites.
Finally, do not forget that you will still need to work through all the steps required to set up any business abroad in the same way you would in the UK. This includes researching your proposed market, writing a business plan and doing some financial forecasting. For more general information on setting up your own business, see self-employment.
Telecommuting or telework is a work arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work. A person who telecommutes is known as a "telecommuter", "teleworker", and sometimes as a "home-sourced" employee. Many telecommuters work from home, while others, sometimes called "nomad workers" use mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other locations. According to a Reuters poll, approximately "one in five workers around the globe, particularly employees in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, telecommute frequently and nearly 10 percent work from home every day ...".[1]
The terms "telecommuting" and "telework" were coined by Jack Nilles in 1973.[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting
http://www.gilgordon.com/telecommutesafe/telebenefits.html
Ten Advantages to Telecommuting:
In the Areas of Conserving Energy, Protecting the Environment, Promoting Family Values, and Enhancing Worker Safety
Telecommuting (working from home or a "remote workstation") has shown increasing attention across the United States in the last several years, as well as growing acceptance [1-38]. People commute in cars, buses, planes and trains to work and to other activities on a regular basis; commuting is part of our lives. However the actual necessity to physically change location in order to accomplish such tasks has recently been challenged on the basis of concerns for energy conservation, the impact on our environment, a refocusing on family values, and other issues. Ten advantages future workers and our society in general might see are presented and discussed.
1. Conserving Energy
Although energy utilization will continue to grow as we expand our industry and improve our standard of living, efficient use of energy will always be of prime importance. By telecommuting to work instead of using more conventional methods, there is a great potential to save energy. The three major areas where energy can be conserved are:
· Vehicle-related materials and resources;
· Highway-related materials and resources; and
· Office-related materials and resources.
A tremendous amount of energy is required to produce transportation equipment such as automobiles, buses, trains and jet aircraft. If telecommuting is promoted, there will be less use of this equipment and less energy will be required for production, maintenance and repair of this equipment. Fuel resources needed to operate this equipment will be reduced, as well The building and repair of highways and maintenance requires a large consumption of energy, not only in the operation of the highway construction and repair equipment, but also in the manufacture and transportation of the required materials. An increase in the percentage of people telecommuting to work will decrease the need for expanded highways and associated road maintenance. The first two areas related to getting to work. Once a person arrives at work in a central office location, he or she represents another energy consumer, often times magnified many times over what would be required at home. The office building has heating, cooling and lighting needs, and the materials to build it and maintain it require energy in their production and transportation. Working from home requires only modest incremental demands on energy for heating, cooling and lighting needs, and makes effective use of existing building space and facilities.
2. Preserves Our Environment by reducing land use requirements for highway expansion and by reducing slow-moving automobile emissions. Highways and parking lots are continuing to consume large quantities of our land surface area. If a larger percentage of people telecommuted to work, existing highways could be reduced in size and parking lots could be converted to parks. One of the largest sources of pollution is the automobile. This is especially true of slow-moving automobiles that often exist in heavy, congested rush hour traffic. Of course, one solution to this problem is increasing the size and number of our roads, but an even better solution is to encourage those who can to telecommute, so we will not need additional highways, parking lots, and airports in the future. And, when we do choose to drive our cars, it will be in fresh air, on less crowded streets, when we are not in a hurry to get somewhere.
3. Promotes Safety by reducing highway use by people rushing to get to work. There are thousands of traffic-related deaths every year and thousands more people severely injured trying to get to work. In addition there is substantial property loss associated with traffic accidents that occur as people take chances in order to make the mad dash from home to the office. Often times people have made the trip so often that they are not really alert, often fall asleep and frequently become impatient by traffic jambs and slower travelers. More and more people are becoming frustrated by the insistence that they come into the office every day, when, in fact most, if not all of their work could be accomplished from their home or sites much closer to their home.
4. Improves Health by reducing stress related to compromises made between Family and Work. The stress associated with commuting back and forth to work away from the home is real, and telecommuting offers a renewed opportunity for workers to rediscover the joys of working from their homes. This is a rediscovery, because centuries ago it was commonplace for "cottage industries" to exist where work was produced in ones home, often times incorporating the talents of the entire family in producing a product. With advanced telecommunications technology a large segment of our workers can return to this mode of "work-at-home" productivity not compromising either their Family living or their Job productivity.
5. Allows closer proximity to and involvement with family. Working in the home offers people a greater opportunity to share quality time with family members, to promote family values and develop stronger family ties and unity. Also, time saved through telecommuting could be spent with family members constructively in ways that promote and foster resolution of family problems. The strength of a society derives from the strength of its individuals and the strength of its individuals often times derives from the strength of their families.
6. Allows proximity to extended family (location where employee has "roots"). There are a wide range of scenarios that constitute what is best for any given individual or any given family. However, often times people are forced to leave a community where they grew up and have a large extended family of parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and all sorts of family relations. Many people long for the opportunity to return "home" where they can spend their lives with old friends and family. While this is not true for some people, there are a large number of people who stand to enhance the quality of life through the flexibility that telecommuting offers. Through telecommuting, a person can work for a company in one part of the world, while living in another.
7. Allows selection of a remote worksite that is mutually acceptable to all family members and allows spouse an opportunity to pursue his/her career. How many times have you seen the situation where a husband or wife has a job opportunity in another town and must choose between the new opportunity and no opportunity, because their spouse does not want to or cannot change employment? If either person could telecommute, the decision is much easier, allowing for a more congenial relationship and reducing the potential stress and possible breakup of a relationship.
8. Allows employee freedom to choose an environment that is more suitable from a social and economic standpoint and to live in an area with people of common interests. For couples as well as singles, people who can telecommute do not have to quit their jobs and move, when they determine they are not compatible with the town they are living in. This occurs often, following a divorce or when a single person discovers an incompatibility with the area surrounding his or her employers business. Telecommuting affords an employee the freedom to look for another place to live, where he or she can feel comfortable both from a social, as well as an economic standpoint and live near people that have common interests. All this, while remaining loyal and productive for their employer.
9. Improves Productivity: Time saved can be used to improve productivity. Much time is spent on unnecessary activities by people who commute back and forth to work in the conventional manner. Time is wasted from the minute one gets up to go to work until the minute one goes to bed after returning from work. With telecommuting, one no longer needs to be always preparing for the commute and for being "presentable". One can go to work simply by tossing on a robe and slippers, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down to the terminal. You no longer worry if the car will start, if your clothes are neat, or if you're perfectly groomed. That may still be important to you, but it no longer has to be. And you no longer are interrupted by all the idle chatter that inevitably takes place at the central work place - some of it useful for your work, but a lot of it just a waste of time and a perpetual interruption. (Now you can stay up on latest rumors at your convenience using electronic mail.) For persons with health problems or handicapped persons, working from home may offer some comforting and productive opportunities, as well.
10. Reduces number of people "job hopping"; decreasing training requirements. Many people job hop each year, and much of this "job hopping" is because people want to move to a new location. They enjoy their work, and they would keep working for their present employer, but they do not like their present location. If people could move without losing their jobs, because they could telecommute, the amount of retraining would be reduced substantially. This would increase overall employee productivity while keeping loyal and productive employees on board.
The ten major advantages to telecommuting have been presented. As one specific example of how telecommuting relates to some of the Energy, Environmental, Safety and Health issues we have just presented, consider a recent and growing concern regarding the expansion of our highway system to accommodate increased usage, particularly near population centers. To address this concern it would be prudent to carefully consider "telecommuting" as a viable element of any future plan to preserve and protect our environment from the encroachment and pollution caused by highway expansions.
Some people propose that a "Paving Moratorium" be invoked to limit the expansion and extension of highways throughout the country. If a paving moratorium was limited to stopping the expansion of existing roadways, that would make sense. If it interpreted as stopping the creation of new highways that would allow people to access a new home in the country or explore remote parts of this wonderful world, that would be unreasonable. The real problem with highway use lies in the fact that a large number of people are traveling back and forth to work unnecessarily. As stated before, energy is wasted by the unnecessary use of materials for construction of unneeded automobiles and highway expansion.
Environmental damage is inflicted by auto emissions and the consumption of land by enlarged highways and an increasing area for parking. There is unfortunately a huge waste of time, money and human lives in the process. This is an area of great importance to our energy, environment, safety and health, and solutions to commuter transportation should be carefully examined. Can you really believe that you can stop people from enlarging or paving highways and thereby make a significant positive impact on the environment? One needs to examine the root causes for massive expansion of highway systems and widening of freeways. One of the reasons often given for highway expansion is that people need to commute to work. But do they?
Perhaps we should examine the contention that people need to commute to work. What percentage of people could actually stay home and use telecommuting to effectively accomplish their work? Commuting to work seems to be a major element of the transportation needs and a root cause for the push to expand highways. Perhaps efforts should be expended to encourage more people to telecommute using computers and modems rather than cars, petroleum and highway space. That effort would improve our environment and simultaneously help a lot of people who suffer the pain and sometimes death of rush hour traffic. In the past transportation has not been considered an environmental issue. The focus of most environmentalists was spotted owls, wetlands, old growth forests, etc. The automobile and all the systems required to support it have been taken for granted by environmentalists. In fact, many environmentalists rely heavily on their cars to get them back and forth to work.
Cars should be used primarily for activities that cannot be undertaken easily by "telecommuting", for example driving to the mountains for backpacking with family and friends, traveling to a river or lake for fishing and swimming, taking a family sightseeing tour, or going out for some family fun and entertainment. Cars, buses or trains may not be necessary in the future move weary workers back and forth to an office where one routinely sits down in front of a computer and performs simulations, word processing, data entry, reporting and numerous other such tasks.
Granted, not everyone could telecommute, nor would everyone want to, but many, many people could and would, right now, if the incentives were there. And many more can and will, in the future, when telecommuting is promoted and facilitated to the degree that highway expansion is. We should raise our sights further and ask ourselves what is really causing us to use cars so much and what can be done to reduce any excess and unnecessary use. Artificially imposing a ban on highway construction will not solve the problem, it would just frustrate many people who want to travel. Instead, it may be better to promote telecommuting, by encouraging employers to offer incentives for telecommuters and by bringing this to the attention of local and national governments. All employers should be encouraged to support "telecommuting", which is very good for our environment.
We do not necessarily need extensive involvement by the government. However, attention of local and national governments may be needed in order to alert them to the fact that we may not really require larger highway systems, and that tax dollars spent in that fashion may be wasteful. The environment is becoming part of the "business sense" of *all* organizations, public and private. The conservation of resources that could be derived from telecommuting are significant enough to capture the attention of management, now. But the environmental benefits of telecommuting are just part of the equation. Energy conservation, enhancing family values and other components are also involved. These components, coupled with environmental concerns will eventually outweigh the concerns that some employers have regarding remote workstations and telecommuting.
We are on the verge of a new era of telecommunications that will impact our lives and how we work and how we become productive in the 21st century. Telecommuting may prove to be an effective means to enhance our lives and improve our productivity on this new frontier and our strategy should be to find ways as a National Laboratory to enhance the capabilities for future telecommuters.
Venture capital (VC) is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as biotechnology, IT, software, etc. The typical venture capital investment occurs after the seed funding round as growth funding round (also referred to as Series A round) in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event, such as an IPO or trade sale of the company. Venture capital is a subset of private equity. Therefore, all venture capital is private equity, but not all private equity is venture capital.[1]
In addition to angel investing and other seed funding options, venture capital is attractive for new companies with limited operating history that are too small to raise capital in the public markets and have not reached the point where they are able to secure a bank loan or complete a debt offering. In exchange for the high risk that venture capitalists assume by investing in smaller and less mature companies, venture capitalists usually get significant control over company decisions, in addition to a significant portion of the company's ownership (and consequently value).
Venture capital is also associated with job creation (accounting for 2% of US GDP),[2] the knowledge economy, and used as a proxy measure of innovation within an economic sector or geography. Every year, there are nearly 2 million businesses created in the USA, and 600–800 get venture capital funding. According to the National Venture Capital Association, 11% of private sector jobs come from venture backed companies and venture backed revenue accounts for 21% of US GDP.[3]
It is also a way in which public and private actors can construct an institution that systematically creates networks for the new firms and industries, so that they can progress. This institution helps in identifying and combining pieces of companies, like finance, technical expertise, know-hows of marketing and business models. Once integrated, these enterprises succeed by becoming nodes in the search networks for designing and building products in their domain.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital
FreelancerFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Freelance (disambiguation).
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and labor contributed by its regular employees. Others are completely independent. "Independent contractor" would be the term used in a higher register of English.
Fields where freelancing is common include; music, journalism, publishing, screenwriting, filmmaking, acting, photojournalism, cosmetics, fragrances, editing, event planning, event management, copy editing, proofreading, indexing, copywriting, computer programming, web design, graphic design, website development, consulting, tour guiding, video editing, video production and translating and illustrating.
Freelance practice varies greatly. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while others may perform work based on verbal agreements, perhaps enforceable through the very nature of the work. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients.
Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day, hour, a piece rate, or on a per-project basis. Instead of a flat rate or fee, some freelancers have adopted a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or upon completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes.
In writing and other artistic fields, "freelance" and its derivative terms are often reserved for workers who create works on their own initiative, then look for someone to publish them. They typically keep the copyright to their works and sell the rights to publishers in time-limited contracts. In contrast, intellectual property created under a work for hire situation according to the publishers' or other customers' specifications are referred to as "independent contractors" and similar terms. They have no copyright to the works, which are written as works made for hire, a category of intellectual property defined in US copyright law — Section 101, Copyright Act of 1976 (17 USC §101). This is the opposite of the situation with a regular employee, the relationship between a freelancer and an employer being that between two business equals, the protections of the intellectual property rights that naturally vest in the creator of the work are considered to have been sold in toto in the work for hire agreement.
Freelancer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Freelance (disambiguation).
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and labor contributed by its regular employees. Others are completely independent. "Independent contractor" would be the term used in a higher register of English.
Fields where freelancing is common include; music, journalism, publishing, screenwriting, filmmaking, acting, photojournalism, cosmetics, fragrances, editing, event planning, event management, copy editing, proofreading, indexing, copywriting, computer programming, web design, graphic design, website development, consulting, tour guiding, video editing, video production and translating and illustrating.
Freelance practice varies greatly. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while others may perform work based on verbal agreements, perhaps enforceable through the very nature of the work. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients.
Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day, hour, a piece rate, or on a per-project basis. Instead of a flat rate or fee, some freelancers have adopted a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or upon completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes.
In writing and other artistic fields, "freelance" and its derivative terms are often reserved for workers who create works on their own initiative, then look for someone to publish them. They typically keep the copyright to their works and sell the rights to publishers in time-limited contracts. In contrast, intellectual property created under a work for hire situation according to the publishers' or other customers' specifications are referred to as "independent contractors" and similar terms. They have no copyright to the works, which are written as works made for hire, a category of intellectual property defined in US copyright law — Section 101, Copyright Act of 1976 (17 USC §101). This is the opposite of the situation with a regular employee, the relationship between a freelancer and an employer being that between two business equals, the protections of the intellectual property rights that naturally vest in the creator of the work are considered to have been sold in toto in the work for hire agreement.
Public company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This is not the same as a government-owned corporation.
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It has been suggested that public limited company be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2012. |
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The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010) |
A public company, publicly traded company, publicly held company or public limited company (in the United Kingdom) is a limited liability company that offers its securities (stock/shares, bonds/loans, etc.) for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets. Public companies, including public limited companies, can be either unlisted or listed on a stock exchange depending on their size and local legislation.
Government-owned corporations (also known as publicly owned companies) are also sometimes called public companies, but are quite different.
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[edit] Securities of a public company
Usually, the securities of a publicly traded company are owned by many investors while the shares of a privately held company are owned by relatively few shareholders. A company with many shareholders is not necessarily a publicly traded company. In the United States, in some instances, companies with over 500 shareholders may be required to report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; companies that report under the 1934 Act are generally deemed public companies. The first company to issue shares is generally held to be the Dutch East India Company in 1601[citation needed], but quasi-corporate entities, often trading or shipping concerns, are known to have existed as far back as Roman times.
[edit] Advantages
Publicly traded companies are able to raise funds and capital through the sale (in the primary or secondary market) of their securities, whether debt or equity. This is the reason publicly traded corporations are important: prior to their existence, it was very difficult to obtain large amounts of capital for private enterprises. The profit on stock or bonds is gained in form of dividend or capital gain to the holders of such securities.
The financial media and analysts will be able to access additional information about the business.[clarification needed]
[edit] Disadvantages
Privately held companies have several advantages over publicly traded companies. A privately held company has no requirement to publicly disclose much, if any, financial information; such information could be useful to competitors. For example, publicly traded companies in the United States are required by the SEC to submit an annual Form 10-K containing a comprehensive detail of a company's performance. Privately held companies do not file Forms 10-K; they leak less information to competitors, and they tend to be under less pressure to meet quarterly projections for sales and profits.
Publicly traded companies are also required to spend more for certified public accountants and other bureaucratic paperwork required of all publicly traded companies under government regulations. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States does not apply to privately held companies. The money and income of the owners remains relatively unknown by the public.
[edit] Stockholders
In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission requires that firms whose stock is traded publicly report their major stockholders each year.[1] The reports identify all institutional shareholders (primarily, firms owning stock in other companies), all company officials who own shares in their firm, and any individual or institution owning more than 5% of the firm’s stock.[1]
[edit] General trend
The norm is for new companies, which are typically small, to be privately held. After a number of years, if a company has grown significantly and is profitable, or has promising prospects, there is often an initial public offering which converts the privately held company into a publicly traded company or an acquisition of a company by a publicly traded company.
However, some companies choose to remain privately held for a long period of time after maturity into a profitable company. Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and logistics services provider United Parcel Service (UPS) are examples of companies which remained privately held for many years after maturing into profitable companies.
[edit] Privatization
A group of private investors or another company that is privately held can buy out the shareholders of a public company, taking the company private. This is typically done through a leveraged buyout and occurs when the buyers believe the securities have been undervalued by investors.
In addition, one publicly traded company may be purchased by one or more publicly traded company(ies), with the bought-out company either becoming a subsidiary or joint venture of the purchaser(s) or ceasing to exist as a separate entity, its former shareholders receiving either cash, shares in the purchasing company or a combination of both. When the compensation in question is primarily shares then the deal is often considered a merger. Subsidiaries and joint ventures can also be created de novo - this often happens in the financial sector. Subsidiaries and joint ventures of publicly traded companies are not generally considered to be privately held companies (even though they themselves are not publicly traded) and are generally subject to the same reporting requirements as publicly traded companies. Finally, shares in subsidiaries and joint ventures can be (re)-offered to the public at any time - firms that are sold in this manner are called spin-outs.
Most industrialized jurisdictions have enacted laws and regulations that detail the steps that prospective owners (public or private) must undertake if they wish to take over a publicly traded corporation. This often entails the would-be buyer(s) making a formal offer for each share of the company to shareholders. Normally some form of supermajority is required for this sort of the offer to be approved, but once it happens then usually all shareholders are compelled to sell at the agreed-upon price and the company either becomes a subsidiary, ceases to exist or becomes privately held.
[edit] Trading and valuation
The shares of a publicly traded company are often traded on a stock exchange. The value or "size" of a company is called its market capitalization, a term which is often shortened to "market cap". This is calculated as the number of shares outstanding (as opposed to authorized but not necessarily issued) times the price per share. For example, a company with two million shares outstanding and a price per share of US$40 has a market capitalization of US$80 million. However, a company's market capitalization should not be confused with the fair market value of the company as a whole since the price per share are influenced by other factors such as the volume of shares traded. Low trading volume can cause artificially low prices for securities, due to investors being apprehensive of investing in a company they perceive as possibly lacking liquidity.
For example, if all shareholders were to simultaneously try to sell their shares in the open market, this would immediately create downward pressure on the price for which the share is traded unless there were an equal number of buyers willing to purchase the security at the price the sellers demand. So, sellers would have to either reduce their price or choose not to sell. Thus, the number of trades in a given period of time, commonly referred to as the "volume" is important when determining how well a company's market capitalization reflects true fair market value of the company as a whole. The higher the volume, the more the fair market value of the company is likely to be reflected by its market capitalization.
Another example of the impact of volume on the accuracy of market capitalization is when a company has little or no trading activity and the market price is simply the price at which the most recent trade took place, which could be days or weeks ago. This occurs when there are no buyers willing to purchase the securities at the price being offered by the sellers and there are no sellers willing to sell at the price the buyers are willing to pay. While this is rare when the company is traded on a major stock exchange, it is not uncommon when shares are traded over-the-counter (OTC). Since individual buyers and sellers need to incorporate news about the company into their purchasing decisions, a security with an imbalance of buyers or sellers may not feel the full effects of recent news.
Work types
Flexible working
https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working
Overview
Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee’s needs. This can, for example, mean they work certain hours or work from home.
Anyone can ask their employer to work flexibly.
If an employee is caring for someone (eg a child or adult) they have the legal right to ask for flexible working.
This is also known as ‘making a statutory application’. However, this doesn’t mean that an employer has to agree to the request.
Part 2
Types of flexible working
There are different ways of working flexibly that are open to anyone.
Job sharing
Two people do one job and split the hours.
Working from home
It might be possible to do some or all of the work from home.
Part time
Working less than full-time hours (usually by working fewer days).
Compressed hours
Working full-time hours but over fewer days.
Flexitime
The employee chooses when to start and end work (within agreed limits) but works certain ‘core hours’, eg 10am to 4pm every day.
Annualised hours
The employee has to work a certain number of hours over the year but they have some flexibility about when they work. There are sometimes ‘core hours’ which the employee regularly works each week, and they work the rest of their hours flexibly or when there’s extra demand at work.
Staggered hours
The employee has different start, finish and break times from other workers.
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