According to Mallor, Barnes, Bowers and Langvardt (2010), “modern corporate law only emerged within the last 200 years, the ancestors of the modern corporation existed in the time of Hammurabi, ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. As early as 1248 in France, incorporation privileges were granted to commercial companies to encourage investments for the benefit of society. In England, the corporate form was widely used before the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, general statutes of incorporation emerged in the United States” (p. 1009). Verizon Communications Inc. has 13 boards of directors, 1 CEO, 8 executive vice presidents, 2 presidents and 5 senior vice presidents. “Verizon Communications Inc., based in New York and incorporated in Delaware, was formed on June 30, 2000, through the merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. Verizon began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol VZ on Monday, July 3, 2000. » Verizon Communications Inc. is a public company. In this article, I will discuss the roles and duties of a business. I will also discuss the differences between a public company and a private company. Finally, I will discuss the type of company I prefer. An examination of the roles and duties of the corporation The role of the board of directors The affairs of the corporation are conducted by its management, under the direction of the board of directors. The Board and each Board committee have full access to management. In addition, the board and committee members have access to independent advisors when each deems it necessary or appropriate. Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, and Langvardt (2010) state that the board of directors also issues stock, adopts articles of merger or sha...... middle of paper ...... position within the 'company therefore; I don't think one is better than the other. Works Cited The Allbusiness website provides answers and articles about business(http://www.allbusiness.com Accessed May 22, 2011 Mallor, J., Barnes, AJ, Bowers, T., & Langvardt, AW (2010 ).Business Law: Ethical Environment, Global and Electronic Commerce (14th ed.). McGraw-HillSpadaccini, M. (June 7, 2005). of sole proprietorships and partnerships., retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/business structure/article78032.html, retrieved May 22, 2011 from the Verizon Communication website provides answers to information on. the company (http://investor.verizon.com/profile/index.aspx) Retrieved May 23, 2011