Economy
Megacorporations
The corporations and mega-corporations are spread and diversified throughout the
planets and empires. They tend to have redundant data at multiple
locations so there is no true "head office". They will have guidelines and structures in place that allow each
company branch to work
independently toward common goals. They are something in between a
classic business entity (in the production of products for sale for
profit), a government (in their political clout, power, and ability to
own planets and armies), and a race (in the common purpose of a huge
group of individuals).
The Success of Corporations
With the advent of cheap, nano-empowered molecular
manufacturing, a lot of business emphasis switched away from the
importance of building and assembly work by hands and machines.
The most important aspects of business became design,
innovation, distribution, marketing, and the creation of
desirable and personalized product. Through nano-technology and
biologically grown technology, bulk manufacturing
can be done simply, cheaply, and easily by small organizations
and even individuals. "Jobs" switched away from
mundane assembly to thought-driven, ingenuity-based jobs. More
than ever, products must fill a niche. They must be cheap and
plentiful or of exceptional quality and packed with features
targeted to a specific market. Fortunately, because
of the sheer number of living beings in the various empires,
even a small niche market can consist of billions of
individuals.
A corporation's strategy and corporate
philosophy's become more important than ever. The ways in which
corporations deal with each other, local and galactic
governments, and their customer base becomes a critical factor
in their growth and success. A variety of successful models have
been utilized, from Azatlath's aggressive military-like spread
to Zyfinbek Mercantile's decentralized empowerment of her field
agents.
Corporate Espionage
It is not only critical
for corporations to design and manufacture an appropriate
product but it is critical for companies to maintain strict
control of their intellectual property, since there are no
protections in place between regions and empires to prevent the
outright stealing and copying of unguarded designs.
Espionage is widespread and any form of patent or intellectual
protection is unknown and unenforceable. It is almost impossible
to keep a technology from spreading and growing. The only special rights
and protections a corporation has are by virtue of the standing
army they maintain and their ability to disguise, hide, and booby-trap
their technologies against prying eyes.
Resources
Most resources are relatively plentiful. Minerals and metals
are plentifully available on planetary surfaces, on stellar
bodies like planets, moons, and asteroids. Because it is so
common to find large quantities of resources in a single
location, they are often processed on-site. Smaller quantities
can be loaded onto factory hauler ships that process the
resources on a scheduled route or on the way to the delivery
destination.
Processing of raw resources is
often a relatively compact process involving molecular
disassembly by nanites.
Independent Shipping
For some corporations, the maintaining of a fleet of delivery ships
is undesirable or financially impractical. These corporations often
employ independent shipping methodologies, while others, like the Flint-Grimaldi
corporation, specialize in it as a business almost exclusively.
Corporations or wealthy individuals will
purchase commercial vessels and hire independent Captains to run them
under the terms of a contract. Shorter, stable runs are generally paid
salary per run or daily or weekly wages. Longer or more dangerous runs
tend to be paid more generously on a commission basis or at a percentage of profit. Many
corporations give captains wide latitude, basically allowing them to run
their own business so long as a decent percent profit gets turned.
Operating budgets for fuel and repairs are handled per contract,
sometimes split, sometimes covered by captain or corporation. Larger
corporations will often maintain their own repair stations instead of
paying for repairs.
The longest, most dangerous, most
rewarding, bottom-of-the-barrel haulers are generally referred to as
"boon donkeys", as in the dumb asses that work in the boonies.
Specifically, those who specialize in hauls on the edge of nowhere are
referred to as deepjobbers, outhandlers, and deep donkeys. Those who
initiate new or unusual runs, particularly through dangerous or unknown
territory, are called pointjobbers and pointhaulers. Farhandlers
specialize in long runs, of a month or more. Hole donkeys are
specialized technicians and pilots who deliver and set up remote wormhole generators.
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