The term enterprise is a general term that refers to a particular company, group, industry, organization, partnership, or corporation. An enterprise can be of completely and utterly varied sizes. Some enterprises are extremely large multi national type corporations, and can consist of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands or more of employees. Some examples of large enterprises are the Coca Cola Corporation, the United Way, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the American Red Cross. Enterprises can also be much smaller in nature, such as in the case of a new business startup, which can consist of as few as 1 or 2 employees, or a new non-profit organization, which can still be in a funding stage with no revenues or no financial resources. Traditionally, an enterprise is instituted to attain a particular goal, either to meet a need or in more carnal cases to make a profit.
This term is defined in the 3rd edition of the PMBOK but not in the 4th.