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Introduction

GCSE Applied Business In this task I am going to look at the different types of jobs in the different functional areas in McDonalds. I will also find out how each of the areas helps to achieve the companies' aims and objectives by working with each other. Function: An area of activity in a business Functional Areas o Marketing & Sales o Customer Service o Production/ Operations o Human Resources o Finance o Administration & ICT Marketing & Sales Marketing: getting the right product to the right person at the right place. Sales: the process of the customer buying the product. This department is crucial to the success of McDonalds. The department finds out information on what the customers want and produce it. They do this by market research o Primary Research: information collected that is new data which did not exist before o Secondary Research: past year figures that already exist Primary Secondary Questionnaires Past sale figures Telephone Research Interviews Statistics Surveys Reference books McDonalds use both primary and secondary research to get the information they want from their customer's e.g. * Contact us * Surveys * Info on the web * Questionnaires Successful marketing results occur when businesses such as McDonalds concentrate on what is known as the 4 P's o Price: what basic price the customer would pay, whether discounts or credit terms would be desirable, price of competitors products, whether additional price related features would be tempting E.g. McDonalds sell a Big Mac for �2.50 and Burger King Sell a quarter pounder for �2.60 o Promotion: where would it be best to advertise the product, what type of personal selling would be best, what type of sales promotions would help, what publicity would be most effective, how the product should be displayed in restaurants. McDonalds promote by Adverts Online Special offers Competitors Vouchers o Place: where to find potential customers. ...read more.

Middle

This could mean Marketing and sales have to cut advertising, Production may have to deduct overtime, HR may be told they can no longer hire or replace people for a time; Administration may have to defer the purchase of a new printer. Finance is also responsible for paying employers wages or salaries. So and enquiries about those payments will be made to the finance area. Different functions need finance to pay for goods they have bought. Production and impact on functional areas Finance has a critical link with Production because the cost of making a product or delivering the service has to be calculated very carefully. This information is required before the selling price can be calculated and this must take account the prices charged by competitors. The costs of Production will be calculated using current figures for raw materials, standard times or working and average wage rates. If raw materials cost more and there is excessive downtime or slow working resulting in high overtime payments then these will increase the cost of production budget to ensure targets are met as soon as possible. It has links with HR for its staffing needs. Additional staff may be required to help process a large order or to meet a high seasonal demand for goods or service. HR will organise training for new staff and new skills. They will give advice if there are any labour disputes and will be involved in any union negotiations Also Marketing as they can consult to see exactly what the customer wants and produce it through market research. Marketing and impact on functional areas Marketing has links with finance as to the sales budget given that the level of sales is the starting point for setting the budget. Marketing and Sales will forecast annual sales of different products and this result in income forecast for McDonalds. Marketing also forecasts the cost of promotion and advertising. ...read more.

Conclusion

Generate ideas or suggestions * Discuss issues of mutual concern The meeting must be well organised otherwise it may not be effective. McDonalds have to consider the following before preparing a meeting * The time, date and venue must be fixed in advance * The time and date should be convenient for those whose attendance is vital * Those attending must now what they need to do to prepare for the meeting * The venue must be large enough for everyone and in a convenient location to minimise travel time and cost * One person should be nominated to run the meeting and another to take notes down of opinions * Paperwork must be prepared in advance and either circulated to members beforehand or handed out on the day * The chairperson must be capable of running the meeting properly so that everyone is encouraged to contribute and no one is allowed to distract or take over the meeting * Minutes or action notes which summarise what was discussed and the action people promised to take must be circulated afterwards Oral Advantages Rapid Relatively cheap Voice can be used for emphasis or to show feelings Immediate feedback possible Can check listeners paying attention Body language Emphasises meaning and attitude Disadvantages Clear speech must be essential Message must be clear and ambiguous to be understood Person must be able to hear the message without distractions Long or complex sentences easily forgotten External factors may distract speaker or listener Can be difficult to handle if open hostility or disagreement shown by listener Written Advantages Has formal authority Provides a permanent record as evidence Can be retained for future reference Can be copied for other people Can include visual info and colour to aid understanding Creates a distance ( good for bad news ) Can be studied at leisure Disadvantages Takes time to produce Need skill to be produces quickly and accurately Delivery may take time Will be spoiled by poor spelling, punctuation Must be legible (handwriting) ...read more.

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