Final answer:
The key characteristic of all organizations is that they have a purpose, guiding their actions and objectives. Other elements like advisory boards, stockholders, or customers, while common, are not universal to all organizations. The foundational rules of any institution are generally outlined in its constitution or similar documents.
Step-by-step explanation:
The key characteristic of all organizations is that they have a purpose. This purpose defines what the organization aims to achieve and guides its activities. While other elements such as advisory boards, mission statements, vision statements, stockholders, or customers may exist within certain organizations, they are not universal characteristics. For example, not all organizations have stockholders; this is specific to public companies. Similarly, not every organization has customers in the traditional sense; some non-profit organizations or governmental agencies serve stakeholders without engaging in commercial transactions.
When discussing the most important set of rules for any institution, typically its constitution or analogous foundational documents serve this role. A constitution provides the legal basis for an organization's structure and governance. For businesses, particularly public companies, shareholders own the company and vote for a board of directors. However, a hierarchy of authority, explicit rules, division of labor, and no coercion to join are the characteristics defining bureaucracies, not necessarily public companies or organizations in general.