An acceptable and practical classification includes four broad functional areas :-

(i) Production : This area is normally kept under the control of a production manager who is responsible for the performance of entire related activities.

This area may further be classified into major sub-activities :-

• Purchasing
• Material Management
• Research and Development

 (ii) Marketing : This area involves the distribution of organisation’s product to the buyers. This can be divided into following subareas :-

• Advertising
• Marketing Research
• Sales Management

(iii) Finance and Accounting : This area deals with the record keeping of various transactions and management of financial resources :-

• Financial Accounting
• Management Accounting
• Costing
• Investment Management
• Taxation

 (iv) Personnel : This aspect deals with the management of human beings in the organisation. It includes following areas :-

• Recruitment and Selection
• Training and Development
• Wage and Salary Administration
• Industrial Relations