Social objectives are those objectives of business, which are desired to be achieved for the benefit of the society. Since business operates in a society by utilizing its scarce resources, the society expects something in return for Its welfare. No activity of the business should be aimed at giving any kind of trouble to the society.

Industry includes all those business activities which are connected with raising, producing or processing of consumer goods. Example-bread, butter, cheese, shoes, or capital goods like machinery.

(i) Profession includes those activities, which require special knowledge and skill to be applied by individuals in their occupation to earn fees.
(ii) People engaged in Profession are known as professionals.
(iii) For Example : Lawyer, Doctor, Chartered Accountant, etc.

Employment refers to the occupation in which people work for others and get remuneration in the form of wages or salaries.

Business refers to any human activity undertaken on a regular basis with the object to earn profit through production, distribution, sale or purchase of goods and services.

Economic activities on the basis of ownership:
On the basis of ownership business activities may be broadly grouped into three categories.
(a) Private Enterprises : An enterprise is said to be a private enterprise where it is owned, managed and controlled by persons other than Government.
(i) Sole proprietorship. Example - Sundar Stationeries
(ii) Partnership firms. Example - Ramesh Bros.
(b) Public Enterprises: An enterprise is said to be a public enterprise where it is owned, managed and controlled by Government or any of its agencies or both.
Public enterprises may be organized in several forms such as,
(i) Departmental undertaking - Public Works Department (PWD)
(ii) Public Corporation - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
(iii) Government Company - State Trading Corporation (STC)
(c) Joint Enterprises: An enterprise is said to be a joint enterprise where it is owned,managed and controlled by Government and private entrepreneurs.
Eg. Maruti Suzuki

Economic activities on the basis of size:
On the basis of size, business activities may be broadly grouped into two categories.
(a) Small-scale:
Small-scale units require less capital. They employ small number of workers and produce the goods on small scale.
Examples:
(i) Manufacturing textiles in handlooms or power looms.
(ii) Extraction of edible oil from seeds like groundnut, sesame, through "traditional wooden churner.
(b) Large scale:
Large-scale units require huge capital. They employ large number of workers and produce the goods on large scale.
Examples:
(i) Manufacturing Textiles in a large Textile mill. Example. Raymonds, Ramraj Cotton.
(ii) Extraction of edible oil from oilseeds in oil mills. Example. Suffola, Sunflower.

(i) Production or Procurement of Goods:
Goods must be produced or procured in order to satisfy human wants.
(ii) Sale, Transfer or Exchange:
There must be sale or exchange of goods or services. When a person weaves cloth for his personal consumption, it is not business because there is no transfer or sale.
(iii) Dealing in Goods and Services:
Goods produced or procured may be consumer goods like cloth, pen, brush, bag etc., or producer-goods like plant and machinery. Services refer to activities like supply of electricity, gas or water, transportation, banking, insurance etc.

Human objectives refer to the objectives aimed at the well-being as well as fulfillment of expectations of employees as also of people who are disabled, handicapped and deprived of proper education and training. The human objectives of business may thus include economic well-being of the employees, social and psychological satisfaction of employees and development of human resources.

Business refers to any human activity undertaken on a regular basis with the object to earn profit through production, distribution, sale or purchase of goods and services.
Business may be defined as "an activity involving regular production or purchase of goods and services for sale, transfer and exchange with an object of earning profit".
A profession is something which is more than a job. It is a career for someone who is competent in their respective areas. It includes professional activities which are subject to guidelines or codes of conduct laid down by professional bodies.

Economic activities are undertaken to earn money. Generally, people engage themselves in such activities on a regular basis and are said to be engaged in their occupation. Occupations may be classified into three categories based on the following:
Employment, Profession, Business
1) Employment: 
It refers to the occupation in which people work for others and get remuneration in the form of wages or salaries.The one who is employed by others are called employees and the one who employs others is called employer.Managers, Clerks, Bank officials, Factory workers etc.are examples of employees.
2) Profession:
Professions are those occupations which involve rendering of personal services of a special and expert nature.A profession is something which is more than a job. It is a career for someone who is competent in their respective areas. It includes professional activities which are subject to guidelines or codes of conduct laid down by professional bodies.Those engaged in a profession are called professionals and they earn income by charging professional fee.
3) Business:
Business refers to any human activity undertaken on a regular basis with the object to earn profit through production,distribution,purchase and saleof goods and service.

On the basis of ownership business activities may be broadly grouped into three categories.
1) Private Enterprises:
An enterprise is said to be a private enterprise where it is owned, managed and controlled by persons other than Government.
2) Sole proprietorship.
Example - Sundar Stationeries
3) Partnership firms.
Example - Ramesh Bros.
4) Public Enterprises:
An enterprise is said to be a public enterprise where it is owned, managed and controlled by Government or any of its agencies or both.
Public enterprises may be organized in several .forms such as,
(i) Departmental undertaking - Public Works Department (PWD)
(ii) Public Corporation - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
(iii) Government Company - State Trading Corporation (STC).
5) Joint Enterprises:
An enterprise is said to be ajoint enterprise where it is owned, managed and controlled by Government and private entrepreneurs. Example - Maruti Suzuki.

Every business enterprise has certain objectives which regulate and generate its activities. Objectives are needed in every area where performance and results directly affect survival and prosperity of a business. Various objectives of business may be classified into four broad categories as follows:
A. Economic Objectives:
Economic objectives of business refer to the objective of earning profit and also other objectives that are necessary to be pursued to achieve the profit objective, which includes creation of customers, regular innovations and best possible use of available resources.
B. Social Objectives:
Social objective are those objectives of business, which are desired to be achieved for the benefit of the society. Since business operates in a society by utilizing its scarce resources, the society expects something in return for its welfare. No activity of the business should be aimed at giving any kind of trouble to the society.
C. Organizational Objectives:
The organizational objectives denote those objectives an organization intends to accomplish during the course of its existence in the economy like expansion and modernization, supply of quality goods to consumers, customers, satisfaction, etc.
D. Human Objectives:
Human objectives refer to the objectives aimed at the well-being as well as fulfillment of expectations of employees as also of people who are disabled, handicapped and deprived of proper education and training. The human objectives of business may thus include economic well-being of the employees, social and psychological satisfaction of employees and development of human resources.
E. National Objectives:
Being an important part of the country, every business must have the objective of fulfilling national goals and aspirations. The goal of the country may be to provide employment opportunity to its citizen, earn revenue for its exchequer, become self-sufficient in production of goods and services, promote social justice, etc. Business activities should be conducted keeping these goals of the country in mind, which may be called national objectives of business.

The essential characteristics of business are as follows:
(i) Production or Procurement of Goods:
Goods must be produced or procured in order to satisfy human wants.
(ii) Sale, Transfer or Exchange:
There must be sale or exchange of goods or services. When a person weaves cloth for his personal consumption, it is not business because there is no transfer or sale.
(iii) Dealing in Goods and Service :
Goods produced or procured may be consumer goods like cloth, pen, brush, bag etc., or producer-goods like plant and machinery. Services refer to activities like supply of electricity, gas or water, transportation, banking, insurance etc.
(iv) Regularity of Dealing :
An isolated dealing in buying and selling does not constitute business. The transactions must be regular. For example, if a person buys a scooter for his use and later on disposes it of at a profit, he cannot be said to have been engaged in business. The buying and selling must be recurrent to constitute business.
(v) Profit Motive :
An important feature of business is profit motive. Business is an economic activity by which human beings make their living. It is, in fact, the attraction of profit which spurs people to do business.
(vi) Element of Risk :
The profit that is expected in a business is always uncertain because it depends upon a number of factors beyond the control of the businessman. For example, change in consumer preference, shortage of raw materials, transport
bottlenecks, power-crisis, etc., may upset business calculations and result in loss. That is why profit is said to be reward for risk-taking. Thus any business activity includes an element of risk too.