Alternative theories to profit maximization ranging from perfect competition to rigid monopolies. Companies and the market Most companies are profit-oriented. Companies survive and live on profit. Government institutions, NGOs and NPOs are also profit-oriented, but what they do with profit is different. Saying this means that companies always try to be in a position where profit is maximized. As we now know, this happens when MC = MR, but this is an ever-evolving point since supply and demand are dynamic, which effectively means that if companies can get it right once they simply can't do the same for eternity, they still have to adapt to every market factor as new change is a new reality all together that needs to be studied and addressed. All these changes take place in what is called the market, where suppliers and consumers meet to reach a level that suits the interests of both parties involved. Markets have four different structures that require different "attitudes" from suppliers to enter and compete. and actually gain market share. When you compete, you can find yourself in perfect competition, in monopolistic competition, in an oligopoly or in a monopoly [1]. Each of these structures guarantees different situations compared to perfect competition, where companies all compete equally in terms of threats and opportunities, in terms of homogeneity of the products sold, guaranteeing that each competitor has the same chances of obtaining a share of the market, at other end of the scale where we have monopolies whereby a single company dominates the entire market not allowing any other company to enter the market by selling the product (or service) at its price. In all these we are also considering that... half of the document ......05 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), [internet] Accessed on: 13 November 2005, http://www.icgg.org/corruption. cpi_2005. html[3] Professional Jewler magazine archive, De Beers Suspends Operations in Angola, [internet] Accessed: 13 November 2005, http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2001/aug01/0801dn3.html[ 4] Angola News Online, edition no. 16, June 8, 1998, [internet] Accessed: November 13, 2005, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Newsletters/angno16.html[5] Diamond Industry Annual Review, De Beers Signs New Angola Agreement , [internet] Accessed: 13 November 2005, http://www.pacweb.org/e/images/stories/documents/addendum%20angola%202005-english.pdf[6] Professional Jewler magazine archive, Lev Leviev's Angolan Connection, [internet] Accessed: November 13, 2005, http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2002/feb02/0202dn1.html