world development

Functional Areas

There are different functional areas or departments in a business to ensure everything runs efficiently. Even in small businesses different key tasks need to be done regularly this may be carried out by 2 or 3 different people doing various tasks or in a big business such as Tesco or Sainsbury one department may consist of up to several people. Functional areas also vary for different businesses such as retailer do not have the need for the production function. The purpose of having different functional areas are so that each one of them can be carried out efficiently it also helps them achieve their aims and objectives as different departments have different aims and objectives. There are many different departments or functional areas in a business they are:

Administration – This department is a support function that is needed by all businesses, they carry out a wide range of tasks which can be simple like opening mail, filing documents and sending email and faxes but it also includes more original and flexible tasks, such as arranging travel or important events, from staff meetings to visits by foreign customers. Poor or sloppy administration can be disastrous for a company’s image and reputation as mistakes such as a lost order, badly typed letter, important message that is not passed on or wrong date scheduled for a meeting can cause problems and may lose customers. A good administration department means that everything runs smoothly and managers can concentrate on the task of running the business. In a small organisation, an administrator is often a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ who can turn a hand to anything – from checking and paying invoices to keeping the firm’s website up to date. In a larger firm administration may be carried out in every department, rather than just one. A sales administrator may make overseas travel arrangements whereas an administrator in human resources would arrange job interviews. Some of the main tasks carried out by administrators are:

Collecting, distributing and dispatching the mail
Storing and retrieving paper and electronic records
Organising meetings and preparing meetings documents
Responding promptly to enquiries
Preparing documents using word processing, spreadsheet and presentation packages, such as PowerPoint
Researching information
Sending and receiving messages by telephone, fax and email
Making arrangements for visitors.
Making travel arrangements
Purchasing supplies of office stationery and equipment
Making arrangements for events, such as interviews or sales conferences

Costumer service – All businesses need to look after their customers or clients as they often have an enquiry, concern or complaint. When customers contact a business they expect to be treated promptly, politely and want to achieve a knowledgeable response, if they are not happy with the services they usually will take their business elsewhere. This is why it is important to have a customer service where trained staff can handle enquiries and complaints positively and professionally it is best if they specialise in assisting the customers and ensure in some cases that the problem does not happen again also they must also be aware of the legal rights of customers and this means having knowledge of consumer law. Some of the main tasks carried out by the customer service department are:

Answering customer enquiries about products and services
Providing specialist information and advice to meet customer needs
Solving customer problems
Providing after-sales service, including replacing damaged goods, arranging for repairs or for spare parts to be obtained and fitted
Dealing with customer complaints according to company procedures
Analysing records of customer complaints to resolve problem areas
Using customer feedback to improve customer service and satisfaction

Distribution function – The distribution department ensures that good are delivered on time to the right people; lots of businesses such as Debenhams and Argos deliver their products straight to the buyer when they buy online. Distribution also involves things like planning and making sure it is cost efficient, for example making sure a vehicle has a route which avoids back- tracking also making sure that the fuel costs are low and vehicles do not return empty so they do the job of both delivering and collecting. The distribution department have to plan routes for many different vehicles deciding on different loads with different levels of urgency – it can get complicated so computer programs are used by staffs that are skilled in working out the best routes. Some of the main tasks carried out by the distribution department are:

Ensuring all goods are appropriately stored before dispatch
Ensuring goods for dispatch are securely packed and correctly labelled
Checking vehicle loads are safe and secure
Ensuring goods are despatched at the right time
Checking that all deliveries match orders precisely and notifying sales if there is a discrepancy
Completing the delivery documents
Planning and scheduling vehicle routes
Notifying sales staff of delivery schedules so that customers can be informed
Dealing with distribution problems, e.g. through bad weather or vehicle breakdown.

The Finance department – All businesses need income to make a successful business and pay the bills, finance staff keep track of all the money earned and spent so that the managers know how much has been made, their profits, turnovers etc. Knowing the figures enables them to make decisions more easily and accurately as they have a clear understanding of where there business is heading knowing whether they are succeeding or failing in their business. There are different types of financial experts which are employed:

Management accountants they monitor departmental budgets and current income from sales, prepare cash flow forecasts and specialise in analysing day-to-day financial information and keeping senior managers informed.

Financial accountants are concerned with the preparation of the statutory accounts. All companies must provide a Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account each year, and most produce a cash flow statement as well.

A credit controller monitors overdue payments and takes action to recover bad debts.

Finance staffs maintain the accountants by keeping financial records, chasing up late payments and paying for items purchased. Mostly all businesses use computer accounting packages to record financial transactions and organize their accounts as well as spreadsheets to evaluate financial data. The overall main tasks carried out by the finance department are:

Producing invoices, checking payments are received and chasing up overdue payments
Recording money received
Checking and paying invoices received
Preparing the payroll and paying staff salaries
Monitoring departmental budgets to check managers are not overspending
Issuing regular budget reports to all departmental managers
Producing cash flow forecasts and regular financial reports for senior managers
Advising senior managers on sources of finance for capital expenditure.
Producing the statutory accounts each year

Human recourses function – the human recourse department is responsible for recruiting new employees and making sure that every job is occupied with the right person who is trained and committed so the business can achieve its aims. It’s important as it can be disastrous if the wrong person is hired to do something for the company and the person, it can also be very time consuming and expensive. They also arrange training and make sure that the business retains good and experienced staff. But also staffs have basic expectations of their employer and job, they expect to be paid well and treated properly, by this have reasonable working hours and conditions along with training. They expect support when they are ill or have personal problems and praise when they have worked well and hard. This helps the staff’s motivation which benefits the whole business. The human recourse department helps by processing and monitoring the conditions making sure that the company pay rates are fair and competitive. The overall main tasks carried out by the Human Recourse department are:

Advertising job vacancies

Notifying staff of promotion opportunities
Receiving and recording all job applications, arranging interviews and notifying candidates of the result
Sending a contract of employment and other essential information to new staff
Arranging staff training and encouraging continuous professional development
Monitoring the working conditions of staff
Checking health and safety and keeping accident records
Recording sick leave and reasons for absence
Carrying out company welfare policies, e.g. long-service awards and company loans
Advising managers on the legal rights and responsibilities of the company and its employees
Keeping records of grievances and disciplinary actions and their outcome
Monitoring the terms and conditions of employment, including wage rates
Maintaining staff records
Liaising with staff associations or trade unions which represent the workforce

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The ICT function – the ICT department is a very important department even the smallest of businesses needs someone who understands ICT and knows what to do if something goes wrong. It is vital as there are many crucial tasks carried out on the computer and data is usually stored on the computer which if breaks down can be very catastrophic. The ICT department makes sure the staffs have a computer network where they are linked through servers; they maintain the servers and update it when it is necessary by updating and installing new software and additional hardware. They are also involved in purchasing new computer supplies and update senior managers on the technology developments which would benefit the company. Most importantly ICT is also responsible for system security making sure that only certain users have access to the system, protecting the systems against viruses and hackers. They also ensure that everything has a full back-up system to restore data if there is a system failure. Finally ICT specialists assist others by repairing any problems and advise staff on the use of new software or any updates. The overall main tasks carried out by the ICT department are:

Recommending new/updated systems and software to keep abreast of technological developments and the needs of the business
Buying and installing new hardware and software and providing information or training as appropriate
Assisting users who have computer problems
Repairing the computer system when required
Advising on/obtaining/issuing computer supplies and consumables
Connecting new or additional equipment to the system
Installing a security system which limits access to authorised users and protects against hackers and viruses
Technically maintaining the company website
Monitoring staff computer use for compliance with the company IT policy
Operating a back-up system for critical data so this can be recovered quickly in an emergency

The Marketing Function – The marketing department is about recognizing and meeting the costumer’s needs. Many businesses consider this very vital; everyone in the business is trained to put the costumers first. The four ‘p’s of the marketing mix illustrates the marketing department.

Product – Who are our customers? What do they want to buy? Are their needs changing? Which products are we offering and how many are we selling? What new products are we planning? In which areas are sales growing – and how can we sustain this? For which products are sales static – and how can we renew interest? Which sales are falling and what, if anything, can we do?

Price – How much should we charge? Should we reduce the price at the start to attract more customers – or charge as much as we can when we can? Can we charge different prices to different types of customers? What discounts can we give? What services or products should we give away or sell very cheaply – and what benefits would this bring?

Promotion – How can we tell people about our products? Should we have specialist sales staff? Where should we advertise to attract the attention of our key customers? How else can we promote the product – should we give free samples or run a competition? Where and how can we obtain free publicity? Should we send direct mail shots and, if so, what information should we include?

Place – How can we distribute our product(s)? Should we sell direct to the customer or through retailers? Do we need specialist wholesalers or overseas agents to sell for us? What can we sell over the telephone? How can the Internet help us to sell more?

All of these questions are thought about by the marketing department; they first try and identify the costumer’s needs and then produce a product or adapt their product according to the needs of the costumer’s. Marketing is responsible for promoting the product as there’s no use if no one knows about the product so therefore they promote the product by advertising, sales promotions and publicity campaigns. A company website is also a major way of promoting the business and product/service and it is the marketing department’s responsibility to keep it up to date. They can also publish regular newsletters to registered users of their site by email. The overall main tasks carried out by the finance department are:

Carrying out market research to obtain feedback on potential and existing products and/or services
Analysing market research responses and advising senior managers of the results and implications
Promoting products and services through a variety of advertising and promotional methods, e.g. press, TV, online, direct mail, sponsorship and trade shows or exhibitions
Obtaining and updating a profile of existing customers to target advertising and promotions appropriately
Producing and distributing publicity materials, such as catalogues or brochures
Designing, updating and promoting the company website

The Sales Function – Sales is a important function for all businesses, there is no point in having a product or service if no one buys it so most businesses have sales targets, meeting these targets is the responsibility of the sales staff or team. The jobs of the sales staff depends on the type and size of the business for example a business selling basic goods such as chocolate and magazines don’t need to do much selling and promoting to the costumers, they choose the goods they want, buy it and leave, whereas a bigger business which sells more technical products such as TV’s and computers will have to sell their products differently as they will need to ensure they have staff that are trained who have knowledge about the product and can describe and demonstrate the product and link it to the costumers specific needs. There will also be big business buyers who will want to buy highly complex and expensive industrial who will expect a high quality service and in-depth advice and information especially if they buy oversees. Business buyers will also expect discounts for big purchases and the sales representatives often have to travel to meet potential buyers, as well as meeting existing customers to ensure their needs are being met. The sales department and marketing department have many links between them and in many businesses it can be a joint department. Sales can pass on important customer feedback to the marketing department to help its colleagues. The overall main tasks carried out by the Sales department are:

Organising sales promotions
Responding to customer enquiries
Selling the product or service to customers, either over the telephone or face to face
Preparing quotations or estimates for customers
Negotiating discounts or financial terms for business customers
Providing technical advice
Keeping customer records up to date

The production function – The production department refers to the manufacturing and assembly of goods. The production department ensures that the goods are of a good quality and are produced on the right time. Checking quality does not only mean examining the goods after they have been produced, checking the quality starts from the very beginning starting with the raw materials for example Marks and Spencer’s checks the standards for all of its producers, for clothing this includes the type and weight of material right down to the thread and fastenings too. The purchasing of raw materials is done by specialist purchasing staffs that make sure the requirements are met. They also make sure that all of the items are checked in delivery and if there are any problems then they are reported to the supplier. The materials have to be purchased at a competitive price they also have to include factors like reliability of the supplier, the quality required and the delivery date. Many production processes can be automated and done by machines and robots, operators have to check the production line and make sure everything is functioning properly by checking the consoles and computer screens as well as watching the work as it progresses. Some industries use Computer Integrated Manufacturing, where the control of the process is done by the computer. The production function also includes all of the following aspects:

Production planning involves deciding what will be made, when, and which machines and operators will be used. A realistic timescale must be predicted, bearing in mind other jobs that are in progress

Production control means constantly checking progress to make sure that production plans are met – and taking remedial action if problems occur. This could be because of machinery breakdown, substandard raw materials or labour shortages.

Machine utilisation control is concerned with minimising problems by keeping all the equipment and machinery in good working order. This involves checking to ensure none is overloaded or overused, without being routinely checked and maintained. This is important because if a machine malfunctions it may produce damaged goods. If it breaks down altogether then production of that product will cease. Because this aspect is so important, many organisations have a maintenance plan, which shows the dates on which machines will be out of operation for inspection and servicing. These dates are then taken into consideration when production plans are made.

Staff utilisation control concentrates on making sure all the staff are working effectively and efficiently and concentrating their efforts on key production areas and targets. This is very important in industries which are labour-intensive and use more people than machines, such as assembling circuit boards or sewing jeans.

Final quality checks make certain that the product is of the correct standard. This can be done in several ways. Each item may be examined by hand – or passed through a machine which checks that the size and tolerance is correct. Alternatively, items may be selected for inspection on a random sampling basis. This would be the case if a large number of identical items are being produced, such as cups or biros.

Production can also be involved in getting the products ready for dispatching. It can involve simply packaging the product and finishing the items or even transporting them to the dispatch section. Finally the overall main tasks carried out by the Sales department are:

Ordering (often buying) stocks of raw materials from approved suppliers
Storing and checking the stocks of raw materials
Planning production schedules to maximise machine capacity and staff levels
Producing or assembling the finished product
Checking the quality of the product throughout the production process
Checking production is on schedule and resolving delays or problems
Packing and storing the final products before distribution
Scheduling routine machinery inspections and maintenance
Carrying out repairs to machinery and equipment as required

The Research and Development function (R&D) – This function involves new product development along with improvements to the product that they already sell in many businesses it includes product design as well. Improvements are made to existing product through market research and customer feedback, for example ring pull cans and memory sticks for computers. In this department new products are developed such as mobile phones and new drugs because of scientific and technological scientific advances. There are two types of research, Pure research which aims to helps us learn more about things like outer space and DNA, this kind of research is mainly carried out universities and scientific establishments where as Applied research is investigating how to improve products that are already out there such as non stick pans this research is done in business organisations. R & D staff aim to work with designers to create a usable product that can be manufactured at a reasonable cost, sold at a competitive price and is safe to use. For that reason, R & D attracts staffs who are very experienced in their own industry and also in their own field. Technological advances through R & D not only affect our lives but also the ways in which businesses operate. New developments in computer software and hardware have changed the way all departments create, store and share data and communicate with their customers; and new types of machinery and equipment have revolutionised many production processes. Some of the Research and development carried by certain businesses are:

In the pharmaceutical industry, scientists research and develop new medicines and drugs
In the food industry, technologists work with chefs to prepare new products such as ready meals, sauces or flavourings.
Electronic and IT companies concentrate on new technology products and software, such as HD televisions, the X-box 360 and iPod accessories
In the aerospace and car industries, engineers focus on improving performance and safety whilst reducing emissions or noise. Designers concentrate on the shape and look, both internally and externally

The main purpose of having all of these functional areas is so that the business can run efficiently and all for the important business tasks and activities are carried out. This is very important if the business is to achieve its aims and objectives. In addition different departments are responsible for supporting specific aims and objectives for example:

Sales and marketing will be involved in achieving targets linked to developing new markets or increasing sales.
Human resources will be involved in arranging staff training activities and supporting the continuous professional development of all staff.
Finance will be expected to monitor and support aims and objectives linked to keeping costs low to improve profitability.
Production will be set targets relating to quality or meeting planned production schedules.

How different functional areas work with each other

Although each part of an organisation has its separate chain of tasks and responsibilities, none of them could function without the support of other functional areas. An administration department would have little work if there were no other parts of the organisation generating work for it. Customer services would not have a role had sales not sold products and services to customers. Sales would often not be able to fulfill the needs of customers if the distribution department could not send out products and information.

All of the functional areas rely on production, which make the products and there is enough stock to sell to the customers. But production would not be able to work if research and development had not created new products for it to make.

All of the functional areas in a business need to ensure that they work within their budget and do not go over; they have to make sure they can purchase products and services as they need, along with having a system that logs and monitors any money they have generated for the business. This finance department responsibility and they help all the functional areas by fulfilling their duty. The whole organisation is also dependent upon human resources, which will try to find ideal applicants for the job positions in the departments. The information flows from one department to another, as well as databases of information, are very important to the different functional areas this is controlled, maintained and serviced by the IT department. Below is a table which shows in-depth how different functional areas interrelate with each other.

Functional Areas within the Business

There are many tasks needed to be successfully accomplished in every business so that the business reaches its highest potential and is successful. The main purpose of functional areas is to make sure that all of the essential business activities are carried out well and powerfully. All businesses have aims and objectives which they are aiming to achieve. If the functional areas of business work well together it allows businesses to achieve their aims, their objectives and their goals.

The Core Objectives

National Blood Service -

Their core purpose is ‘to save and improve patients’ lives’. Their mission statement and values that they live by is to achieve this core purpose; ‘we will deliver world-class services, building ever stronger partnerships with donors and the healthcare community’.

NBS’s Core Objectives:

To provide sufficient blood, products, tissues and related services to current quality standards.

To explore opportunities for continuous improvements in efficiency and quality.
To develop safer and more effective products and services to new quality standards.
To promote the appropriate and efficacious use of blood, products, tissues and services.
To modernise donor recruitment, donor session and donor retention processes.
To recruit, develop and retain an appropriately skilled, educated and motivated workforce.

Tesco –

Tesco’s mission statement is to Retain Loyal People. To make sure Tesco achieve their mission statement, they need to know who their loyal customers are. That is why Tesco has got a club card service, through which they can award people by giving them special vouchers and extra points.

Tesco’s Core objectives:

To maximize sales and to maximize its profits is the main aim of Tesco

To continue to provide exceptional food and services at affordable prices-Tesco aims to continue producing fresh, tasty and exceptionally good value food for its customers.
To grow and maintain the number one retail company position in the UK and to expand on it- Tesco has been awarded this prestigious award and plans to maintain it by continuing to sell goods and services at high quality and low prices.
To expand the loyalty club card scheme across the world and to introduce new customers via additional channels-The loyalty scheme at Tesco has many benefits for both the customer and Tesco. They aim to open up the scheme in the many countries that Tesco has established its supermarket.
To cut down the packaging and labeling on own branded products by 25%

How each department contributes to particular aims and objectives of each business

Greenpeace -

Greenpeace is an organisation which aims to make positive change through action.

Their objectives are:

To prevent climate change by ending the addiction to fossil fuels and promoting the use of efficient fuels
Protecting the oceans and ancient forests
Eliminating the use of toxic fuels
Campaigning against the release of genetically modified organisms in to nature
To bring about nuclear disarmament and an end to contamination by nuclear substance.

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