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Business Functions
and Organisations
Copyright 2003 – Biz/ed
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Business Functions
• Human Resources
• Sales and Marketing
• Research and Development
• Production/Operations
• Customer Service
• Finance and Accounts
• Administration and IT
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Human Resources
• Recruitment and Retention
– Job descriptions
– Person Specifications
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Dismissal
Redundancy
Motivation
Professional Development and Training
Health and safety and conditions at
work
• Liaison with Trade Unions
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Sales and Marketing
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•
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Market research
Promotion strategies
Pricing strategies
Sales strategies
The sales team
Product – advice on new product
development, product improvement,
extension strategies, target markets
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Research and Development
• New product development
• Product improvements
• Competitive advantage
• Value added
• Product testing
• Efficiency gains
• Cost savings
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Finance and Accounts
• Cash Flow
– Monitoring income/revenue
– Monitoring expenditure
• Preparing accounts
• Raising finance
– Shares
– Loans
• Links with all other functional areas
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Production/Operations
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Acquiring resources
Planning output – labour, capital, land
Monitoring costs
Projections on future output
Production methods
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Batch
Flow
Job
Cell
• Efficiency
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Customer Service
• Monitoring distribution
• After-sales service
• Handling consumer enquiries
• Offering advice to consumers
• Dealing with customer complaints
• Publicity and public relations
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Business Organisation
• Organisation by type
• Global businesses – complex
organisation structures
• National – organisation possibly
stretches throughout the country
• Regional – could be through a county
or wider area (North West, South East
etc)
• Local – small organisations serving
local area or community
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Business Organisation
• Authority – the right to make decisions and carry out
tasks
• Span of control – the number of people a superior is
responsible for
• Chain of Command – the relationship between
different levels of authority in the business
• Hierarchy – shows the line management in the
business and who has specific responsibilities
• Delegation – authority to carry out actions passed
from superior to subordinate
• Empowerment – giving responsibilities to people at all
levels of the business to make decisions
Copyright 2003 – Biz/ed
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Administration and IT
• Managing estates – cleaning, health
and safety, maintenance, security
• Reception
• Clerical work – reporting, recording,
record keeping, communication
• Overview of quality control
• Use of IT systems
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Organisation Charts
Hierarchical Structure
Managing Director
Marketing
Director
Sales Director
A
B
C
D
Market
Research
Finance Director
Strategy Purchasing
Manager
Sales
Manager
Accounts
Manager
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Organisation Charts
Pyramidal Structure
MD
Senior
Managemen
t
Middle
Management
Workers
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Organisation Charts
Centralised/Entrepreneurial
Finance
R&D
Production
MD
Marketing
Sales
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Organisation Charts
Collaborative
Sales
Accounts
Marketing
Production
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Organisation Charts
Circular/Flat
Sales
Marketing
Finance
Production
R&D
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Organisation Charts
Matrix Structure
Marketing
Sales
R&D
Project
HR
Production
Finance
Copyright 2003 – Biz/ed