¿Qué es una empresa?

Key Concepts:

• Empresa (Company/Enterprise): Defined as a social group managing capital, resources, and labor to produce goods/services, or a collection of human, economic, financial, and technical resources for productive activities.
• Recursos (Resources): Material, technical, human, and financial elements essential for a company's operation.
• Objetivos Empresariales (Business Objectives): Economic, social, and technical goals that guide a company's actions and contribute to societal well-being.

1. Definición de Empresa (Definition of a Company):

• A company is defined as a social group that manages capital, resources, and labor to produce goods and/or services.
• It's also defined as a collection of human, economic, financial, and technical resources used to develop activities that produce goods and/or services to satisfy community needs.
• Another definition is a set of organized human activities aimed at producing goods or services.

2. Elementos de una Empresa: Recursos (Elements of a Company: Resources):

• A company needs various resources and inputs to achieve its objectives. These resources, when harmoniously combined, contribute to the company's proper functioning.
• Recursos Materiales (Material Resources): Tangible assets used to offer services.
  • Instalaciones (Facilities): Buildings, equipment, machinery, land, offices, instruments, tools, etc.
  • Materia Prima (Raw Materials): Auxiliary materials that are part of the product at any stage of transformation, including work-in-progress and finished goods.
• Recursos Técnicos (Technical Resources): Tools and auxiliary instruments used to coordinate other resources.
  • Production, administrative, financial, and sales systems.
  • Formulas, patents, and trademarks.
• Recursos Humanos (Human Resources): The most indispensable elements for any social group.
  • Possess unique characteristics: skills, ideas, creativity, imagination, feelings, experience, knowledge, and potential for development.
  • Hierarchical level within a company depends on the individual and their role.
• Recursos Financieros (Financial Resources): Essential for the company's operation and development.
  • All monetary resources, both owned and borrowed.
  • Propios (Owned): Cash, shares, profits, etc.
  • Ajenos (Borrowed): Loans from creditors and suppliers, bank and private credits, bonds.

3. Objetivos Empresariales (Business Objectives):

• When a company operates within a social framework and directly influences human life, it needs desirable goals to satisfy the needs of its environment.
• Business objectives help achieve this and are classified as:
  • Económicos (Economic): Aim to achieve monetary benefits and fulfill the monetary interests of investors.
    • Provide fair dividends on investment.
    • Maintain capital at present value.
    • Make payments to creditors for interest on loans.
    • Obtain profits above bank interest rates for distribution to investors.
    • Reinvest in the company's growth and expansion.
  • Sociales (Social): Contribute to the well-being of society.
    • Satisfy consumer needs by offering quality products and services with the best sales conditions.
    • Increase the socioeconomic well-being of a region by consuming raw materials and services, and creating jobs.
    • Support public services through the payment of taxes.
    • Conserve and improve the ecology of the area by avoiding or minimizing environmental pollution.
    • Produce goods and products that are not harmful to the well-being of the community.
  • Técnicos (Technical): Oriented towards technological optimization.
    • Use the most current knowledge and incorporate the latest technological applications in various business areas to contribute to achieving objectives.
    • Promote research and improvement of current techniques for the creation of national technology.
    • Investigate market needs to create competitive products and services.

4. Synthesis/Conclusion:

The video provides a comprehensive overview of what constitutes a company, emphasizing the importance of various resources (material, technical, human, and financial) and the different types of business objectives (economic, social, and technical). The harmonious management of these resources and the pursuit of well-defined objectives are crucial for a company's success and its positive impact on society. The video highlights that a company is not just an economic entity but also a social entity with responsibilities towards its community and the environment.