Departmental functions Chapter 16

Departmental functionsChapter 16Laiba Khan, Aisha Khan, Marwa Dulaimi

Why are businesses divided into departments?

Large businesses are broken down into smaller departments so that the work can be done easily.Each unit has employees that are specialised in that job =better outcome.The job is done faster because each department is focused on a specific task.

Department: a section in a business where all employees have similar skills and specialise in particular activities.Four DepartmentsProductionMarketing FinanceHuman resources

Marketing DepartmentDepartment that analyses and decides how the marketing will be done. They are responsible for the product, price, place and promotion. Their main focus is the customer.Examples of activities involved with:Market researchProduct planningPricingDistributionAdvertisingPackagingSales Promotion

Production DepartmentIt is responsible for making goods and providing services. Also, they can be responsible over other activities such as Design, Purchasing, Stock Control, Maintenance, Research and Development.Examples of workers employed in production department:Primary sector: Shepherds, miners.Secondary sector: Packers, assembly workers, managers.Tertiary sector: shop workers, police workers, teachers.

Finance DepartmentThe department responsible for administrating and monitoring the financial transactions carried out by the business. It takes care of the money of the business and makes financial statements.Example of tasks carried out by the department:Recording transactionsWages and salariesCredit controlCash flow forecasting and budgetsAccounts

Human Resources DepartmentThis department is concerned about the employees and the environment.They appoint employees based on their profession, interview them and train them.Contracts are also a part of their job such as employment contract.They maintain good relationships and communications with trade unions.Employees are given instructions by the HR department about discipline, rights of employees, dealing methods and dismissal procedure.

Relationships and interdependence between departmentsGood communication needed between departments to have a successful businessExamples of interdependence:Production dep. and marketing dep. regarding mods to an orderHR and finance dep. regarding wages and salariesFinance dep. and production dep. regarding profitable designs (for a product)