Q.Explain the objectives of business.

A business is guided by more than one purpose at the same time, and these purposes are usually grouped under four heads.

A business pursues several kinds of objectives together, and these are usually studied under four broad heads.

1. Economic objectives flow directly from business being an economic activity: earning a reasonable profit for survival and growth; building market standing through satisfied, repeat customers; encouraging innovation in products and processes; raising productivity; and making optimum use of physical and financial resources.

2. Social objectives recognise that a business depends on the goodwill of the wider society it operates in: supplying goods and services of the right quality at fair prices; avoiding unfair trade practices such as adulteration, hoarding, or black-marketing; generating employment opportunities; and contributing to the community's welfare.

3. Human (organic) objectives concern the people who work inside the business itself: paying fair wages, providing a safe working environment, and giving employees opportunities for growth, participation, and job satisfaction.

4. National objectives look at what business, taken as a whole, contributes to the country: government revenue through taxes, foreign exchange through exports, employment on a large scale, and balanced development across regions.

A good business consciously balances all four groups, rather than pursuing profit alone at the expense of the other three -- a point the AP Inter I year Commerce syllabus emphasises when it asks students to "explain" rather than merely "list" these objectives.

Answers that name only the economic objectives (profit, growth) and stop there miss half the marks in an essay question -- the social, human, and national dimensions must all be covered for full credit.