- Current section: Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 General introduction to company law and practice
- 2 Introductory concepts
- 3 Sole traders and partnerships as business mediums
- 4 Reflection on this unit
- Acknowledgements
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Company law in context
The legal issues involved in setting up and running a business can...
The legal issues involved in setting up and running a business can be complex and confusing, especially when some of the terms used don't seem to have clear meanings. This unit from the College of Law gives a basic introduction to the legal concepts of companies, partnerships, assets and liabilities.
After studying this unit you should be able to:
- Part A:
- describe in general terms what a business is;
- demonstrate an appreciation of the concept of capital.
- Part B:
- identify the main types of business medium;
- demonstrate an understanding of the key characteristics of businesses run as sole traders;
- demonstrate an understanding of the key characteristics of businesses run in partnership;
- identify in broad terms where the risks of business failure lie;
- determine what are the assets and liabilities of a business using numeracy skills.
- Duration: 10 hours
- Published on: Tuesday 3rd May 2011
- Level: Intermediate
- Posted under: The Law
Contents
Company law in context
Introduction

In this unit, we will consider the nature of businesses and the principal forms of business organisation. The themes covered in Part A are company, business and capital; and in Part B, business mediums, sole traders, partnerships or firms, and assets and liabilities.
This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University course Company law and practice (W223) [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
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- Creative-Commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence. However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions. Full details can be found in the Acknowledgements section.
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