Functional Areas in Business Organisations and Required Skills

This report evaluates the functional areas in a business firm and discusses the types of skills needed by employees to work effectively in such functional areas. The report covers the key functional areas of a business, including marketing, human resource management, customer service, finance, research and development, and sales. It also describes the various skills required by employees to work effectively in these functional areas. The report is relevant to students studying business management and related courses.

BSc (Hons) Business Management with Foundation
BMP3004
World of Work
Functional Areas
Submitted by:
Name:
ID:

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3
2.0 What is business?.......................................................................................................................3
3.0 What is the functional areas of business?..................................................................................3
4.0 What are the key functional areas of a business?......................................................................3
5.0 Description of the various areas in business organisations?......................................................4
5.1 Marketing.........................................................................................................................4
5.2 Human Resource Management.........................................................................................4
5.3 Customer service..............................................................................................................4
5.4 Finance ............................................................................................................................4
5.5 Research and Development .............................................................................................5
5.6 Sales..................................................................................................................................5
6.0 Description of the types of skills needed by employees to be able to work effectively in these
functional areas................................................................................................................................5
6.1 Skills needed by Marketing employees:...........................................................................5
6.2 Skills needed by Human Resource Management employees..........................................5
6.3 Skills needed by Customer Service employees...............................................................6
6.4 Skills needed by Finance employees...............................................................................6
6.5 Skills needed by Research and Development employees................................................6
6.6 Skills needed by Sales employees...................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

1.0 Introduction
A company irrespective of its size or nature of working is operated through combination
of several departments coordinated together for accomplishment of common desired
organisational goals. Such department in business firms are well coordinated and tied together
which helps in conducting effective working at given firm by promoting efficient use of
resources in respective operational areas in business firm. For the present report IOM is being
taken into consideration. The respective firm has a decent market presence in its domestic region
i.e. Manchester and Liverpool with strength of 200 employees. The given report shows
evaluation of functional areas in a business firm and will also discuss about types of skills
needed by employees for being able to work effectively in such functional areas of business
enterprises (Adler and Ghadar, 2017).
2.0 What is business?
Business is regarded as the separate legal entity with the name of which an individual
with relevant business idea can earn profits over performing various business activities. The
establishment of business stands with a motive whether being profitable or non-profitable or
profit making or charitable based. Further, it could be divided depending on size i.e. small scale
or large scale (Bharwani, and Talib, 2017).
3.0 What is the functional areas of business?
Functional areas in business enterprises refers to several areas in which various
dimensions of the business firm is being governed. In light to the fact that, it is not possible that
an individual is perfect in each area of business working. Therefore, importance of various
functional areas of business firm plays a vital role in maintaining better productivity at the
workplace. In addition to this, scope for importance of functional areas in a business firm also
plays important role in maintaining better coordinative work in business organisation.

4.0 What are the key functional areas of a business?
Key functional areas in business firm consists of various dimensions of operational
working of a business firm. This is also depends on nature or size of a business enterprises which
categorise its effective working. The key functional areas of a business includes various
departments such as marketing, finance, human resource, customer service, research and
development and many more (Brinch, 2018).
5.0 Description of the various areas in business organisations?
5.1 Marketing
The marketing department of a business firm is engaged in promotion of various products
and services which are being produced in a business organisation. This functional area of a
business firm plays a vital role in providing better potential of the firm in handling competition
in given marketplace. This functional area of a business firm is explored directly to valuable
customers of company, therefore communication skills in respective individual working under
such department plays an important role (Castelo-Branco and et. al., 2019).
5.2 Human Resource Management
The HR management in a business firm have its important existence in business
enterprise. Respective functional area in a business firm relates to engagement with human as a
resource working in the business firm and solving their relative problems or issues encountered
during the course of their operational work. This is yet another functional area in business firm
as, it aids towards establishment of effective employment relationship and is also engaged in
advancing brand image of respective firm to advance level (Chowhan and et. al., 2017).
5.3 Customer service
Such functional areas in a business firm relates to post sales services provided in a
business firm. There is greater importance of such functional areas in a business firm, as with
growing competition. Customers in given marketplace seeks to purchase that brand of product
which provides maximum satisfaction through quality services. Various activities performed in
these functional areas includes, arranging platforms that provide resolutions to respective issues
or disputes encountered by use of respective product or service delivered by company (Höhne
and Tiberius, 2020).

5.4 Finance
These functional areas in a business firm correlates with recording of financial operations
being performed in respective firm. This functional area in business firm benefits with effective
operations of several other activities in given operational firm. As in such functional areas,
various financial related information and data is being analysed which further could be used for
effective decision-making process in the business firm (Hu and et. al., 2017).
5.5 Research and Development
The research and development functional area in a business firm is one of the most
important functional areas in a business firm. This functional area in operational firm dedicates
its working towards conducting researches into internal and external market in which several
operational work of business firm takes place. It provided important data as well as information
which aids towards effective conduction of operational task in respective workforce (Lim and
Greenwood, 2017).
5.6 Sales
Sales functional area in a business firm relates to all sales activities being performed in a
business firm. This functional area is dedicated towards performing various sales related
activities aimed at extracting better productivity and boosting sales of respective firm.
6.0 Description of the types of skills needed by employees to be able to work
effectively in these functional areas
6.1 Skills needed by Marketing employees:
Communication: This skills relates to communicating all the relevant fact of information
and data effectively without creating any confusions. Respective skill is the most required in
field of marketing employees as, it includes direct interactions from business clients or customers
(Miocevic and Morgan, 2018).
Innovation: Being innovative is considered to be another important skill which is needed
by an employee to get recruited in marketing functional area of a business firm. With a believe
that marketing function in firm is engaged in boosting market presence and increasing brand
value of said company in given marketplace. Therefore, being innovative is important.

6.2 Skills needed by Human Resource Management employees
Decision-making: The skill of decision-making in relation to get employment as a human
resource manager plays a vital role. For the reason being as respective functional area of firm is
engaged in sorting disputes or is engaged in organisational affairs all contributes for higher
demand of a good decision maker.
Conflict resolution: Another skill i.e. conflict resolution also holds a strong hand in
preparing for an effective working culture in business enteprises.
6.3 Skills needed by Customer Service employees
Professionalism: Being a customer service executive in a business firm provides with
variety of responsibilities as image of company is on the line. Therefore, adopting to professional
behaviour in firm contributes towards effective performance of customer service related
activities (Sáenz and et. al., 2018).
Honest: Being honest is also skill which is largely demanded by recruiter in search of
customer service employee. As this skill helps an individual to perform better in regards to
several operational task in the specific functional area.
6.4 Skills needed by Finance employees
Team work: This skill is regarded as the most important skill required for a finance
employee. The skill of team work initiates better efficiency of operational work being produced
in the business firm.
Responsible: Being responsible is another strategy which ensure that the selected
employee in finance sector is responsible enough to deal with various complexities and issues
encountered during the operational course work of the organisational firm.
6.5 Skills needed by Research and Development employees
Creative: This skills relates to performing up of a given task in a unique way with a
motive to reduce operational cost or to establish separate brand image with separates operational
work with other competitors present in operational environment of the organisation.
Willingness to learn: As being in R&D department in a given business firm, an employee
with willingness to learn proves to be more effective (Schoenfeld, 2019).

6.6 Skills needed by Sales employees
Confident: Being confident is the most required skill in an individual. This skills enable
working under such functional area with better efficiency and better potential growth of overall
organisational firm.
Communication: As being a sales perform an individual with good communication skill
can efficiently promote products and services of the given business firm (Schweiger and et. al.,
2019).
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that, there are various functional areas in
which a business enterprise operates its work towards achievement of its desired goals and
objectives. Manager at respective firm by implementing effective monitoring techniques can
provide a better shape to better working of such departments. In addition to this, respective
report also concluded various skill set required by an individual in performing activities in such
functional areas of a business firm.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bělohlávek, R., Dauben, J.W. and Klir, G.J., 2017. Fuzzy logic and mathematics: a historical perspective. Oxford
University Press.
Fried, M., 2017. Grieving for a lost home (pp. 229-248). Routledge.
Hutto, D.D. and Myin, E., 2017. Evolving enactivism: Basic minds meet content. MIT press.
Mars, G. and Nicod, M., 2019. The world of waiters. Routledge.
Martinelli, E., Tagliazucchi, G. and Marchi, G., 2018. The resilient retail entrepreneur: dynamic capabilities for
facing natural disasters. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.
Medin, D.L., 2019. Structural principles in categorization. In Perception, cognition, and development (pp. 203-230).
Psychology Press.
Rabin, B.A. and Brownson, R.C., 2017. Terminology for dissemination and implementation research. Dissemination
and implementation research in health: Translating science to practice, 2, pp.19-45.
Ravichandran, T., 2018. Exploring the relationships between IT competence, innovation capacity and organizational
agility. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 27(1), pp.22-42.
Schmidt, M., Schmidt, C., Glaser, N., Beck, D., Lim, M. and Palmer, H., 2021. Evaluation of a spherical video-
based virtual reality intervention designed to teach adaptive skills for adults with autism: a preliminary
report. Interactive Learning Environments, 29(3), pp.345-364.
Sheehan, K.B., 2018. Crowdsourcing research: data collection with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Communication
Monographs, 85(1), pp.140-156.
Stengers, I., 2018. Another science is possible: A manifesto for slow science. John Wiley & Sons.
Whiteley, M., Diggle, S.P. and Greenberg, E.P., 2017. Progress in and promise of bacterial quorum sensing
research. Nature, 551(7680), pp.313-320.