Business Roles: Laundry List

In my attempt to classify the parties involved or affected by business, I have generated a growing list of roles, which may be of use later. I'd like to record them for later consideration, but my sense is that much of this material is a work in progress - the list is not comprehensive, and the items in the list may my misidentified.

Ownership Roles

On of the characteristics of a business that sets it apart from certain other types of organizations is that the business is owned. However, it's not entirely clear to me what is meant by "owning" a business. It seems to encompass a number of things:

• Holding legal title to the assets of the business or an indirect claim against the assets of the business
• The ability to exercise or delegate authority pertaining to decisions that involve the assets of the business
• Being entitled to receive a share of the profits of the business

It seems that ownership is not a single role, as there may be owners who have some of these qualities, but not all of them. An investor, for example, may have a claim to the profits of a business but have no authority over decisions pertaining to the business.

Employee Roles

The role of the employee merits special consideration, as it is not the same as ownership or mere participation in the organization.

• The responsibility to make decisions or delegate the authority to make decisions, but only in areas in which the a higher authority (owner or superior) has delegated authority to the individual
• The responsibility to perform actions that are necessitated by business decision
• Being entitled to a compensation (wage, salary, commission, or retainer) in exchange for their participation in the organization but has no claim on the profits

Traditionally, employee roles are divided into specific roles according to the degree of authority: executive, manager, director, supervisor, worker. I'm not immediately certain that this is entirely accurate, or the best approach, but acknowledge that it is common.

It's also worth noting that employees are often differentiated from vendors, but I am presently unclear on the rationale for this distinction. There are some areas where there are differences, but they merit more detailed consideration than the present topic requires.

Vendor Roles

Vendors are considered to be separate from the business. A "vendor" is generally an individual or organization that provides goods and services to the business, but is not considered to be part of the business.

• The vendor is responsible to provide goods and services to the business
• The vendor may have responsibility for making decisions pertaining to the business, if this is part of the service they provide
• The vendor has autonomy in making decisions pertaining to the item provided to the business
• The vendor is entitled to payment in exchange for the goods and services provided to the business

It's generally accepted that a vendor is an outsider to the business, and the distinction is fairly reliable when a vendor sells material goods to the business. The line becomes blurred when a vendor supplies services to the business, especially consulting services, in which instance it takes on more of an "inside" role to the business. This merits further consideration.

Customer Roles

Customers to a business are those who purchase the products or services of that business. They are generally an individual or organization outside of the business, whose decision to buy from the business is independent.

• The customer is responsible for paying the business for the product or services received
• The customer is entitled to receive the good or service in exchange for this payment
• The customer has no authority to make decisions pertaining to the business
• The customer may be affected by the product purchased from the business

Some distinction is to be made between the customer of a business (the individual who tenders payment in exchange for a good) and the consumer of the product (the individual who consumes or uses the product purchased) - especially since the contract exists between the business and the customer, but not between the business and the consumer.

Community Roles

Aside of the roles described above, there are individuals who are members of the community in which a business operates and in which its products are used.

• Members of the community may be impacted by the actions of the business
• Members of the community have no direct role in the operations of the business
• Members of the community have no obligations to the business, nor does the business have any obligation to them.

It's noted that the "community" consists of companies as well as individuals, so in this way the competitors of a business are also members of the community, though in an economic rather than a geographic sense.

Absence of Role

While the purpose here is to define the various roles related to business, it also seems an opportune time to consider instances in which there is no role or relationship between an individual and a business.

Specifically, to claim there is no role, there is no relationship or interaction between the business and an individual, and the individual will not be impacted by the actions of the business. Which is to say that if either of those statements are not true, then there exists a role for that individual.