Functions of
Departments
Unit 1b
How are Businesses Organised

A well run business must have:
 employees who are organised
 employees who communicate with each other

Organisations are divided into functional
departments such as:
 Sales
 Finance
 Purchases
 Personnel/Human Resources
Why Must Departments
Communicate
In order for information to flow within the
organisation
 Without communication a business is not
effective
 Communications are vital in a business

Roles of Functional Departments
Collect
Process
Transmit

Departments must:
 Collect Information – data received
 Process Information – data is dealt with
 Transmit Information – send data to many people
What does the Sales Department
Do
Deals with customer
orders
 May also include the
marketing department
 Makes sure customers
know about products
 Try and persuade
customers to buy
goods.

Members of Staff





Sales Manager
Sales Representatives
Customer service
assistants
Administration
assistants
Market research
personnel
Activities of Sales Staff
Respond to customer enquires eg letters,
faxes, telephone calls.
 Send out information to customers eg
price lists, catalogues, quotations.
 Visit customers
 Process customer orders
 Deal with customer complaints

Activities of Marketing Staff
Carry out market research eg telesales etc
 Arrange publicity eg newspaper adverts,
flyers etc

Members of Staff – Finance
Department








Finance Manager
Financial Accountant
Management
Accountant
Accounts Assistant
Invoice Supervisor
Invoice Processors
Wages Assistant
Admin Assistants
Activities of Finance Department






Check invoices and statements received from
suppliers
Prepare checks to be sent to suppliers
Prepare invoices, credit notes and statements to
be sent to customers
Pay in cash and cheques received from
customers
Calculate wages
Prepare final accounts – Trading, P&L Accounts,
Balance Sheet
Members of Staff – Personnel
Department





Human
Resources/Personnel
Manager
Training Officer
Health and Safety
Officer
Careers Officer
Admin Assistants
Activities of Personnel Department
Advertise jobs when they become
available
 Prepare job descriptions
 Prepare and send application forms
 Collect application forms or CV’s from
people applying for jobs
 Prepare a short list of applicants to
interview

Activities of Personnel Dept cont
Interview applicants for jobs
 Give feedback to candidates on their
interviews
 Prepare contracts of employment for new
employees
 Keep records of employee details
 Keep records of staff holidays and sickness

Activities of Personnel Dept cont
Keep records of any accidents
 Deal with disciplinary procedures
 Make sure organisation works within
government legislation
 Make sure that the organisation looks
after the health and safety of its staff.

Members of Staff – Purchases
Department

Purchasing Manager

Stock Controller

Quality Controller

Buyers
Activities of the Purchasing
Department
Obtain catalogues and price lists from
suppliers
 Deal with purchase requests from other
department
 Agree purchase prices and credit terms
with suppliers
 Place orders with suppliers
 Keep records of purchases and deliveries

Activities of the Purchasing
Department (2)
Receive and check deliveries of products
against delivery notes
 Keep accurate stock records including reordering of stock
 Check invoices received with deliveries
 Attend launches of new products and
exhibitions organised by suppliers

When Are More Functional
Departments Needed
When organisations grow in size
 When communicating easily becomes a
problem
 The larger the organisation becomes the
more people are employed – this could
lead to more functional departments being
created

A Small Organisation
Managing Director
Finance Department
Personnel Department
Purchases Department
Sales Department
A Small Organisation
4 functional departments and a small
workforce
 No Computer Cervices Department –
support provided from within or bought in
 No Administration Support Department –
this would be provided by employees
within the department

A Large Organisation
Board of Directors
Managing Director
Computer Services
Department
Finance Department
Administration
Support Department
Purchases Department
Sales Department
Transport Department
The Large Organisation
Has 6 Functional Departments
 Has more employees
 A separate Computer Services Department
 A separate Administrative Support
Department

Members of Staff – Computer
Services Department
Computer Services
Manager
 Help Desk Operators
 Computer Technicians
 Programmers

Activities of Computer Services
Department







Install new software
Make sure licences are stored safely and are upto-date
Maintain Computer Equipment
Respond to problems/queries
Deal with staff training
Create and issue user ID’s and passwords
Create and set up network space for staff/users
Members of Staff – Administration
Support Department






Admin Manager
Receptionist
Switchboard Operator
Reprographics staff
Mail room staff
Computer operators
Activities of Administration Support
Department
Admin support – eg Keyboarding, filing,
databases etc
 Mail handling – both Internal and external
 Reception duties
 Petty Cash
 Purchase small items of stationery
