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Aims and ObjectivesUnit 1: Investigating Business

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The private and public sectors

Private sector businesses are owned by private companies or individuals. They are run to make a profit.

For example, the NHS is operated to benefit everyone in the UK, but a council nursery is run solely for young children and their parents.

Public sector organizations are owned by central government or regional authorities. They can be operated for the benefit of everyone or for one particular group.

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Aims of a business

create a profit or surplus funds

sell or provide goods or services

survive

expand

maximize sales

improve product quality

beat the competition

provide voluntary services

be kind to the environment.

The aims of an organization often include to:

Why are aims important to businesses?

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Aims of private sector organizations

Organizations are divided into two sectors: private and public. The sectors have different aims as they do different things.

Businesses in the private sector can vary enormously in size – your local corner shop and the national chain Tesco are both in the private sector.

Private sector businesses aim to make a profit to survive. They are usually owned by private individuals or groups.

Can you think of five private sector businesses?

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Aims of public sector organizations

Public sector organizations are owned or controlled by the government or regional authorities.

Some industries, such as gas, postal, electricity, telephone and railway, used to be in the public sector but were privatized in order to be more efficient.

Can you think of five public sector organizations?

They are not businesses because they are not seeking a profit; most of their money comes from funds that are acquired through taxes.

However, public sector organizations often have similar aims to businesses, because they also need to run efficiently.

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Public or private sector?