Other Business Structures

Examples of nonprofit institutions include organizations such as schools, churches, hospitals, welfare groups, and adoption agencies. Most of these organizations are legally incorporated to take advantage of unlimited life and limited liability. They are similar to profit-seeking businesses, but do not issue stock, pay dividends, or pay income taxes.

Their activities often produce revenues in excess of expenses, but they use the surplus to further the work of their institutions, not to pay dividends to shareholders. Their efforts are difficult to analyze economically, however, because the value of their products is not easy to measure. Even so, they are an important part of our economic system.

Examples of nonprofit organizations:

• cooperatives
• labor, professional, and business organizations
• government

Objectives:

• Describe nonprofit organizations
• Explain the direct and indirect role of government in our economy

Wikipedia’s definition of a nonprofit organization.

Here are the IRS rule regarding a nonprofit organization.

Homework: Find an article and write a summary - business organization (sole-proprietorship, partnership, corporation) problems (lawsuit, takeover, stock issues, etc.) due Wednesday the 28th due Thursday the 29th. Chapter 3 quiz, Friday the 30th. Unit 1 exam, Monday the February 2.

Note: A question was asked regarding the difference between a nonprofit organization and a not-for-profit organization, here is an answer.

Interactivity - Quiz

In wrapping-up our look at basic interactive components. Here are a few reminders:

• Organize your site. This begins with your navigation. Decide what qualifies as top-navigation and what will be sub-navigation.
• While simple hyperlinks work, spruce up your navigation with rollovers (make sure to preload the images).
• If you use audio, really try to use a compressed format (i.e. .mp3). Please don’t use MIDI sounds!
• Consider using Flash buttons or animations to add to your page (while 99% of browsers have the Flash player, think about your audience).
• If you will be using an item multiple times, consider turning it into a Library item.

Today’s Objectives:

• Insert a multimedia object into a Web page
• Construct a rollover navigation bar
• Demonstrate mastery of lesson 5 objectives

Classwork: Create a Web page with a rollover navigation bar and an embedded MIDI file that plays automatically on load. Take the lesson 5 quiz.

Prep Questions:

• See quiz.

Note: Well done on the quiz average score was 16/20 or 80%!

Interactivity - Flash Buttons

Adobe’s Flash is a powerful multimedia application that uses vector graphics to create highly compressed multimedia for the Web. Flash files can be placed into a Web page. They can consist of animated text, animated characters, sound interactive buttons, and much more. At this stage in the game, your imagination is the only limit. The extension for a Flash file is .swf, which stands for Shockwave/Flash. Because Adobe owns Dreamweaver and Flash, they integrate very well with each other. This helps make the creation of interactive Websites much easier.

Since Dreamweaver 4, users have had the ability to create Flash buttons and Flash text. Today, we’ll look at the benefits of using Flash buttons. When a traditional rollover effect is created, the author must construct individual images of each state (up, over, down, etc.). This can get rather tedious. In comparison, when creating a Flash button, pre-made buttons are shown with the option to download additional styles. This speeds up the process significantly. All the author needs to do is select a style, type the button text, select the font, where the button object is to be saved, the link URL, and background color. Voila! Instant Flash animated button. This usually takes less than a minute.

If you do add a Flash button to your Web page, keep in mind that user must have a Flash plug-in in order to view it. Most browsers include the Flash plug-in and it is safe to assume, in most cases, that people have the Flash plug-in. However, if they have an older plug-in they may be prompted to update and this can be annoying. Think of your audience (as always) before using Flash buttons.

Today’s Objectives:

• Create a Flash button
• Insert and format Flash files
• Create simple Flash objects in Dreamweaver

Classwork: Construct a navigation bar with rollover effects and embed a sound file (Lesson 5 - Assignment 2).

Prep Questions:

• Name the extension for a library item.
• T/F You should preload the images for a rollover.
• Define interactive.

Here are some links to help you with creating Flash buttons in Dreamweaver:

• Web Templates Zone
• Prime Graphix
• Adobe Flash Player Stats

Note: Lesson 5 quiz is tomorrow, Wednesday the 28th.

Growing a Business

There are generally two methods a business can use to grow.  The first is reinvesting its profits. The second method, is to expand though a merger. Both methods have benefits as well as drawbacks.

When a business seeks to grow through reinvestment, they are using their revenue from sales to invest in capital  or labor (factory machinery, new technologies, more workers, etc.).  After subtracting expenses from sales, the business is left with net income. It is this figure that determines the ability of a business to reinvest in labor  or capital. This reinvestment allows the business to produce additional products and increases their sales (hopefully their net income). The major drawback to this method is the slower realization of growth. A company must rely on its profits and may not be able to raise enough money to invest as rapidly as desired.

When a firm grows through a merger, it may do so for a number of reasons. It may seek to grow faster, become more efficient, acquire or deliver a better product, eliminate a rival, or improve it’s image. Several drawbacks to this strategy exist, including too rapid of growth (unsustainable), loss of identity, and increased government regulation/interference.

Objectives:

• Explain how businesses can reinvest their profits to grow and expand
• Recognize the reasons that cause firms to merge
• Identify two different types of mergers

Here is a resource that takes an in-depth look at mergers.

Homework: Find an article and write a summary - business organization (sole-proprietorship, partnership, corporation) problems (lawsuit, takeover, stock issues, etc.) due Wednesday the 28th due Thursday the 29th. Chapter 3 quiz, Friday the 30th. Unit 1 exam, Monday the February 2.

Corporations

A corporation is a kind of business organization made up of a number of people who, according to law can act as a single person. Corporations account for approximately one-fifth of the firms in the United States and about 90% of all sales. A corporation is a form of business organization recognized by law as a separate legal entity having all the rights of an individual. This status gives the corporation the right to buy and sell property, enter into legal contracts, and to sue and be sued.

Some of the advantages of corporations include:

• ease of raising capital
• owners have limited liability
• business’s life is unlimited

Some of the advantages of corporations include:

• charter is expensive
• corporate income is taxed twice
• subject to government regulation.

Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of a corporation
• Explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of a corporation

Here is a link to a resource that explains how to form a corporation, advantages, and disadvantages.

Homework: Find an article and write a summary - business organization (sole-proprietorship, partnership, corporation) problems (lawsuit, takeover, stock issues, etc.) due Wednesday the 28th.

Interactivity - Navigation

Frustrated users are not a recipe for success. One of the more overlooked aspects of Web site design is site navigation. Either poorly labeled categories or icons that are not readily identifiable often lead to user confusion. Just as important is the clear presentation of areas or categories of the Web site. Too often categories are not well thought out, overlap, or are repetitive. This can result in long lists of links and user frustration.

To aid in accomplishing clear navigation, here are some tips:

• Before beginning coding, draw an navigational hierarchy for the Web site. How do the pages link? To what category will they belong?
• Too create strong categories, look at the purpose of your Web site, ask friends/potential users to explain what they are looking for. Use this to construct your categories.
• Keep the number of categories to a minimum. Remember quality is more important than quantity. These will be your top-navigation and will appear on every page.
• Clearly name your categories.
• Look at your categories and break them into sub-categories. These will be your sub-navigation. These links will only appear on pages belonging to their top-navigation.
• Keep placement of navigation consistent (up high but below the banner).
• Add a Home link.

Today’s Objectives:

• Differentiate between top-navigation and sub-navigation
• Create a Flash button

Classwork: Construct pages to link with navigation and build a Flash button (Lesson 5 - Assignment 1).

Prep Questions:

• Define rollover.
• Explain top and sub-navigation.
• Can one generally assume that the Flash player plug-in is installed on most browsers?

Here are some links to help you with creating effective navigation:

• Design Effective Navigation in 10 Steps: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/navigation-10-steps/
• Navigation and Symbolism: http://www.wpdfd.com/issues/24/navigation/
• 25 Examples of Creative Navigation: http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/creative-navigation/
  

Note: Lesson 5 quiz is Wednesday the 28th.

Creating User Interactivity

A rollover, or image swap, occurs when the mouse pointer triggers the existing image to be swapped with another image. This creates a simple animation effect. The purpose of a rollover is to notify the user that this object is a live link and is interactive.

Quick tips for creating rollovers:

• requires two images
• should be the same dimensions
• visually distinct

Dreamweaver automates the procedure and writes the JavaScript necessary to perform the function. All the user must do is specify the original and rollover images.

Today’s Objectives:

• Explain the function of a rollover 
• Create a rollover effect
• Differentiate between top-navigation and sub-navigation

Classwork: Complete Lesson 5 vocabulary and construct a simple rollover.

Prep Questions:

• This language is necessary to perform rollovers.
• Define the term MIDI.
• What type of file is a .wav?

Partnerships

A partnership is a business owned by two or more people. Its advantages and disadvantages are very similar to the sole-proprietorship.  Two forms of partnership exist. In the most common form, the general partnership, all partners are responsible for financial obligations and management of the business. In a limited partnership, while having contributed to funds to finance the business, at least one partner is not active in the daily running of the business.

Some advantages of a partnership include:

• ease of start-up
• no special taxes on a partnership
• easier to raise capital through bank loans or new partner

Some disadvantages of a partnership include:

• partners are responsible for the acts of each other, except in a limited partnership where the limits are spelled out
• limited life (partnerships ends if a partner leaves)
• potential for partner conflicts

Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of a partnership
• Explain some of the advantages and disadvantages of a partnership

Here is a link to a resource that explains how to avoid partnership problems.

Homework: Read ch. 3-3 and don’t forget the initiative essay is due Monday the 26th.

Wrapping-up Templates

Some confusion inevitably arises regarding the use of templates. One of the most common is how to edit areas that are locked by a template. The proper way to edit these areas is to open the template in Dreamweaver and make the necessary edits. This will insure that documents designed from the template will display the updates as well. In a pinch, you can overide the HTML comments that Dreamweaver uses to mark editable areas by using another editor such as notepad. Realize that doing this will negate the benefits of being linked to a template, but works if necessary.

The second item that commonly causes confusion, is that a template is a barebones structure. It contains the minimal material that is applicable to every page. Users, new to templates, tend to want to populate the template with images, text, or other items that will not be on each page of the Web site. Remember, only place items in a template that apply to each page (i.e. banner, navigation, footer, etc.).

Today’s Objectives:

• Construct a simple Web site plan (mission statement, target audience, topics & features, organizational diagram)
• Incorporate the Web site plan features into an HTML template

Classwork: Lesson 4 quiz & finishing the critical thinking project.

Prep Questions:

• This panel organizes media, links, colors, etc.
• List the extension for a Dreamweaver template.

Note: Great job on the quiz! The average score was 85%.

Business Organization

If you’ve ever sold lemonade or provided yard care for money, you’ve been an entrepreneur.  If you had a partner, how was the money and work divided?

There are three major forms of business organization:

• sole-proprietorship
• partnership
• corporation

Each form of business organization has its advantages and disadvantages. In today’s class, we examined the sole-proprietorship.

Objectives:

• Describe the characteristics of the sole-proprietorship
• Undestand the advantages and disadvantages of sole-proprietorships

Sole-proprietorships are businesses run by one person. While the smallest type of business organization in size, they are the most numerous. Advantages of the sole-proprietorship include:

• easy to start
• owner controls all profit
• owner is main decision maker
• taxes apply to personal income tax (no business tax)

Disadvantages include:

• unlimited liablity
• business has limited life
• more difficult to raise financial capital
• more difficult to attract highly qualified personnel

Here’s a quick overview regarding sole-proprietorships. An overview of legal liability for sole-proprietorships.

Homework: Choose one initiative from yesterday’s exercise. Decide either to support or oppose it. Construct a four (or more) paragraph essay defending your position. (Due Monday the 26th)

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