These terms are used to identify the major areas of business of a diversified corporation. Each segment, group, or division often contains a mix of related products (or services), though a single product can be assigned such a designation.

The, term segment does not correspond to a market segment (subgroup of end-users in a product-market), which we discuss throughout the book. Most large corporations break out their financial reports into business or industry segments according to the guidelines of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Some firms may establish subgroups of related products within a business segment that are targeted to different customer groups