Functional Areas of Business: The Role of the Manager
Organizations come in different sizes. A small business can function with one or two people completing all the tasks and making all of the decisions. However, if an organization increases in size and business activity, one or two people will need a team of people so the business can function properly. The structure of the business will have to change to accommodate the increasing operations and demands. The changing structure of the company will lead to functional areas, which will allow the business leaders to delegate responsibilities based on grouped activities.
Functional Areas
As an MBA student, the author has been introduced to the functional areas of business through the University of Phoenix simulation (2012). The areas within a business are essential to the success of the business and it is important to understand what the functional areas are. The functional areas of an organization are:
Human Resource Management — Managers use this to hire, train, retain, and for all aspects of personnel development (University of Phoenix, 2012).
Finance — Managers use finance for ensuring the financial success of the business and to make financial decisions (University of Phoenix, 2012).
Research and Statistics — Research assists managers in reviewing information relevant to the business. Research and statistics can help managers in making future decisions (University of Phoenix, 2012).
Marketing — Marketing allows managers to determine what may interest customers. Through marketing managers can choose how to present goods or services to customers in a way that will interest them and meet their needs (University of Phoenix, 2012).
The purpose of the functional a...
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...staff and ultimately boost productivity - that is why they should take centre stage, urges this book.” He has a point. Managers are at the heart of an organization, and each functional area's efficiency and effectiveness rest on the ability of management to play its role.
References
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Functional Areas of a Chosen Business The different functional areas within the business of Sainsbury’s are as follows: * Customer Service * Retail * Marketing * Trading * Finance * Human Resources * Administration * Payroll I shall not write about what each department actually does within Sainsbury’s: Customer Service This is basically the majority of Sainsbury’s workforce. This involves general duties to be carried out on the shop floor such as checkout assistants which are there for customers to pay for their goods, General Assistants are multi skilled between checkouts and stocking shelves for maximum availability of products for customers. Stock control is another type of customer service Sainsbury’s have.
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter. M. (2014). Management (12th ed.). Retrieved from: Colorado Technical University eBook Collection database.
Noe, Raymond A., et al. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print.
This would pull the company together strengthening it in the face of incoming competition while keeping all its existing structure and value system intact. Rather than take away responsibility from the employees, the functional specialists together with the functional operators’ level would introduce dynamic measures of collecting and coordinating operations across the whole company and thus, not only giving direction but keeping everybody well informed about market conditions/trends and company focussed and prepared for future changes. Teams will then be able to take better decisions in view of the overall company’s short and long- run strategy. Knowing that the company is stable and well prepared for future contingencies boosts the employees’ and shareholders’ confidence.
...e” there is no easy answer and there is never a perfect solution for organizations. Each must determine their needs and there over all goals to have a better understanding of which organizational structure will better suit their organizational needs. Choosing between function and product is not as easy as flipping a coin or following the model of another organization because every company is different and only they can determine what is the best choice. Management has the tough job of determining what is best for the company and although their first decision may not be correct it is important to continue to redevelop and adapt to the changes.
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Robbins, S., Decenzo, D., & Coulter, M. (2013). Fundamentals of management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Human resource management (HRM) encompasses the activities of acquiring, maintaining, and developing the organization's employees (human resources). "The traditional view of these activities focuses on planning for staffing needs, recruiting and selecting of employees, orienting and training staff, appraising their performance, providing compensations and benefits, and making their career movement and development." HRM involves two aspects:...
It is intimated that organizations’ capability for business strategy execution is determined by middle level managers’ abilities and leadership qualities strength. Organizations develop their middle managers to meet the challenges faced by organizations. Middle managers play vital role between senior management and front line workers or supervisors. Organization structures have been changed globally as more responsibilities including critical management have been shifted to middle management while middle management facing more complex situations in the business practices. Middle management and middle managers’ role have been changed and globally organizations are relay concerned about middle managers to successes in the rapidly changing and complex business environment and requirements. The middle managers rapidly changing role requires new set of skills
Gosling, J. and H. Mintzberg (2003). "The Five Minds of a Manager." Harvard Business Review (November 2003): 1-10.
Functional Areas of a Company Companies can achieve their corporative objectives only when the various functions of the company work together. There are four major functional areas in a company namely the MARKETING, FINANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES & PRODUCTION, but there are other businesses like Lewisham College that have other functional areas such as LEARNERS SERVICES & GENERAL STUDIES. All the functions set up their own objectives that want to achieve in accordance with the company’s objectives within a specific period of time. FINANCE DEPARTMENT The Finance Department basically oversees and manages the financial aspect of the college. The college needs the Finance Department to keep updated and essential records of all the incoming money that they make and expenditure the college incurred within an accounting season.
Fisher, C., Schoefeldt, L., & Shaw, J. (1996). Human resource management. (3rd Edition). Princeton, NJ: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Robbins, S.P., & Coulter, M. (2009). Management (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is fundamentally another name for personnel management. It is the process of making sure the employees are as creative as they can be. HRM is a way of grouping the range of activities associated with managing people that are variously categorised under employee relations, industrial/labour relations, personnel management and organisational behaviour. Many academic departments where research and teaching in all these areas take place have adopted the title department of human resources management. HRM is a coordinated approach to managing people that seeks to integrate the various personnel activates so that they are compatible with each other. Therefore the key areas of employee resourcing, employee development, employee reward and employee involvement are considered to be interrelated. Policy-making and procedures in one of these areas will have an impact on other areas, therefore human resources management is an approach that takes a holistic view and considers how various areas can be integrated.