•You will hear five different business people talking about partnerships, one form of business. • For each extract there are two

M: Starting a partnership in the United States requires little more than drawing up articles of partnership.  No legal charters have to be granted, but the name of the business should be registered with state. However, unlike a proprietorship, a partnership is not easy to dismantle.  Selling  a  partnership  interest creates the  same  effect as  the  death  or withdrawal of a partner.  Moreover,  it is difficult to place a value on a partner’s share of the partnership. No public value is placed on the partnership as there is on publicly owned corporations.  When  a  partner  insists  on withdrawing, the result may be a forced sale at a price less than the value of the business.
F: Partnerships can provide diverse skills because partners are able to specialize in their areas of expertise.  Two or three people ran bring different  but  complementary  skills  to  an association. For service-oriented partnerships in such fields as law, financial planning, and accounting,   this   diversity   may   attract customers because clients may think that the service offered by a diverse team is of higher quality than that provided by one person. While,  partners  must  cooperate  to  run  a business  effectively.  Often,  disagreements over   decisions,   rewards,   and   business practices  create  tension  between  partners. These conflicts can threaten not only the profits but even the existence of the business. Unfortunately,  partners sometimes dissolve their successful business bemuse of these conflicts.
M: Partners have the advantage of combined capital resources, The partnership can draw upon the savings of all partners, and their combined personal  wealth  makes  borrowing  easier. Partnerships  tend  to  be  larger than  sole proprietorships and  therefore  have  greater earning power and better credit ratings.  In general partnerships,  general partners have unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business.  Should  the  business  fail,  each partner’s personal wealth maybe legally taken to fulfill the obligations of the venture. If one of the partners makes a decision that costs the company a  lose,  all of  the  partners are responsible. Such responsibility for the actions of other partners is enough to make a person think twice before entering into a partnership agreement.
F: If a partnership wishes to keep a particular employee who contributes a valuable skill, it can make that employee a partner.  Many accounting and law firms operate on  this principle. When employees realize that it is possible to become part-owner of the company, they have incentive to stay with the company and perform much better on the job. However, there are many situations that can di~olve a partnership. Death, withdrawal, or bankrupt- cy will end the venture. Also, failure of a part- ner to fulfill contractual agreements ran cancel the partnership. Of all the forms of business, partnerships average the shortest life span. When the partnership is terminated, the benefits of long-range planning are often lost.
M: Partnership can provide access and exposure to target markets such as leading chefs, restau- rants, writers and high-income consumers and also provide access to new markets and distri- bution channels. Partnership apprentice admits a partner to the partnership, but makes them ineligible for profit sharing for a fixed time. One firm fixes new partners’ salaries for the first three years and then begins profit-sharing in the fourth year. Each new partner is as signed or can purchase the same ownership percentage, which can be increased each year by some factors. It allows existing partners to see how new partners perform before they share in the profits. Animosity, however, may result as young partners work for three years without immediate rewards.