Gaining the Competitive Edge

Monopoly: Complete control of a product or service

Cartel: A loose association of business that make the same productExample: OPEC

The Standard Oil TrustJohn D. Rockefeller: Formed the

Standard Oil Company

Transported oil at a low cost=could set prices lower than competition

Wanted to buy out competition= against the law

Trust: A group of several businesses that get together under one group of people (a single managing board) without merging their companies.

Trusts limit competition

Sherman Antitrust ActOutlawed any

combination of companies that restrained interstate trade of commerce.

Rarely enforced/vague wording

Limited power of BIG BUSINESS

19th-century political cartoon of Rockefeller, caricatured as "King

of the World" sitting on a barrel of oil. (©Bettman/CORBIS)