Costco Wholesale Corporation is America’s largest membership retail company. According to its letter to stockholders:

Our mission is to bring quality goods and services to our members at the lowest possible price in every market where we do business... A hallmark of Costco warehouses has been the extraordinary sales volume we achieve.

To achieve its business goals, Costco must organize its management by functions that relate to the principal activities of a business. Discuss the three basic activities Costco will engage in to achieve its goals, and suggest some examples of each. What is the role of Costco’s management? What functions must its management perform to carry out these activities?