Business Functions and Organisation

1. Business Functions and Organisation

2. Business Functions • Human Resources • Sales and Marketing • Research and Development • Production/Operations • Customer Service • Finance and Accounts • Administration and IT

3. Human Resources • Recruitment and Retention • Job descriptions • Person Specifications • Dismissal • Redundancy • Motivation • Professional Development and Training • Health and safety and conditions at work • Liaison with Trade Unions

4. Sales and Marketing • Market research • Promotion strategies • Pricing strategies • Sales strategies • The sales team • Product – advice on new product development, product improvement, extension strategies, target markets

5. Research and Development • New product development • Product improvements • Competitive advantage • Value added • Product testing • Efficiency gains • Cost savings

6. Finance and Accounts • Cash Flow • Monitoring income/revenue • Monitoring expenditure • Preparing accounts • Raising finance • Shares • Loans • Links with all other functional areas

7. Production/Operations • Acquiring resources • Planning output – labour, capital, land • Monitoring costs • Projections on future output • Production methods • Batch • Flow • Job • Cell • Efficiency

8. Customer Service • Monitoring distribution • After-sales service • Handling consumer enquiries • Offering advice to consumers • Dealing with customer complaints • Publicity and public relations

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Organisation Charts Hierarchical Structure Managing Director Marketing Director Finance Director Sales Director A B C D Market Research Strategy Purchasing Manager Sales Manager Accounts Manager

13. MD Senior Management Middle Management Organisation Charts Pyramidal Structure Workers

14. Organisation Charts Centralised/Entrepreneurial

15. Organisation Charts Matrix Structure Marketing Sales R&D Project HR Production Finance

16. Organisation Charts • Changes to business structures • Linked to new thinking on leadership and management • Less hierarchical • Emphasis on communication and collaboration between sections • Global businesses – more complex structures