Functional Areas of Business - Definition and Key Departments

This report provides information on the different functional areas of business, including marketing, human resource, customer service, finance, research and development, and sales. It also explores the skills required by employees to work effectively in these departments. The report is aimed at helping individuals understand the main functional areas in an organization and the roles and responsibilities involved in the business functions.

Business Management with Foundation
BMP3004
World of Work
Functional Areas
Submitted by:
Name:
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Contents
1.0 Introduction 4
2.0 What is a business? 4
3.0 What is Functional areas of business – Definition
4
4.0 What are the key functional areas of a business?
4
5.0 Description of the various functional areas in business
organizations 5-6
5.1 Marketing 5
5.2 Human Resource Management 5
5.3 Customer Service 5
5.4 Finance 6
5.5 Research and Development 6
5.6 Sales 6
6.0 Description of the types of skills needed by employees to
be able to work effectively in these functional areas
6-8
6.1 Skills needed by Marketing employees 6
6.2 Skills needed by Human Resource Management employees
7
6.3 Skills needed by Customer Service employees
7
6.4 Skills needed by Finance employees 7
6.5 Skills needed by Research and Development employees
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6.6 Skills needed by Sales employees 8
7.0 Conclusion 8
References 9
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1.0 Introduction
The present report is focuses upon the different functional areas of business . This
report provide information regarding John request in understanding the main functional
areas in an organization like sales, production, marketing and many more. This report also
focus on the different skills which are required in the various functional areas of business
so that it help the employees of an organization to perform their task with utmost
productivity (Epizitone and Olugbara 2019). Further, various models will be applied in support
of the report which are being made to assist John in order to identifying the different roles
and responsibilities involved in the business functions.
2.0 What is a business?
The term business refers to an activity of generating money by production of goods
and services or by purchasing and selling of goods. A business can be a profit making
activity or non profit making activity like charitable trust and N Go's. There are various
typos of ways in which a business cane be done like sole proprietorship,
partnership,company, franchise etc.
3.0 What is Functional areas of business - Definition
The concept of the functional areas of business indicates to special skill and jobs
which are required to perform the different activities of the business successfully. The
functional areas of the business are the different department where employees of the
organization bring out their task (Gorbunov and Lvov 2021). Each department has its own
role and responsibilities and they carry out the task according to their department.
4.0 What are the key functional areas of a business?
There are different key functional ares of business which help an organization to
achieve successful position in the market. Each department of the business perform their
activities in a productive manner as a unit not as a individual unit. The functional areas of
business are marketing, sales, human resource, research and development, finance,
customer service and many more.
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5.0 Description of the various functional areas in business
organizations
5.1 Marketing:
Marketing may be define as the process of promotion or selling of gods and
services . This is one of the most important department of business which are engage in
market research and the advertising the product of the organization. The marketing
department of the business totally focus on identifying and fulfilling the needs and
demands of the customer. The main aim of all types of firms is to make more and more
profit and this objective can only be achieved through marketing. This function not only
help a firm to stand in the market but also help them to compete with their competitor and
stand in the market for long time (Heinesand Et .al., 2021). Different types of methods are
being used by the organization to promote their product which help in making a good
relation with the customer.
5.2 Human Resource Management:
The concept of the human resource may be define as the group of people who are
engaged in making a excellent workforce for the industry. This department also play a very
vital tole for the business. This department is responsible for different activities like
recruiting and staffing, benefits for the employee, compensation, learning, training and
development program for the employees and many more. The main aim of this department
is provide a skillful workforce according to need and demand of the other area. They are
also responsible for filling the all vacancy of the organization with the best individual. The
HR manager of the company ensures that the organization retain the excellent and
experienced staff, this is very important for the business point view.
5.3 Customer Service:
The term customer service may be define as the help or the after sales services
which are provided by the organization to their ultimate consumer of the goods and
services. Most of the big organization mainly focus on this area. It is very important for an
organization for the good functioning of this department because good customer service
helps in wining the heart of the consumer. Trained and smart workforce is being hired for
this department to handle the customer issues professionally and positively (Hult, Gonzalez-
Perez and Lagerström 2020) .
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5.4 Finance:
The concept of finance may be define as the managing of fund for the different activities of
the business. This department deals with planing, auditing and recording all the transaction which
is related to money. Most of the entrepreneur consider that finance department is the most
important department and this department plays a very important role in the success of the
business. The employees within the department are responsible for making different reports such
as profit and loss, debtors list, creditors list, cash and cash equivalent etc. Nowadays various types
of accounting software are used by the organization to record the transaction which minimizes the
error.
5.5 Research and Development:
This department handle the activities which are related to the innovation and
development of the existing product or introduction on new product in the market. In many
industries this department also cover the product design. The employees of this
department works with a aim to develop a useful product, sold at reasonable and
competitive price and is safe to consume and use (Lushnikova 2019) . The main role of this
department is to keep eyes on the competitor product and analysis the market trend or
conditions. R&D department make report according to the market conditions so that
organization can develop and innovate their product according the market need.
5.6 Sales:
This department is the soul of a business. The concept of sale may be define as a
trade between two and more people where consumer purchase the goods in exchange of
money or other financial tool. It is pointless for having a excellent product if there is no one
to buy. The stability and the existence of the firm is depend on the good functioning of this
department. The main responsibility of the employees of this department is to covert the
needs and wants into actual sales. For this purpose trained and smart staff members is
required to achieve this objective of the business.
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 skills:- this is the basic and the foremost skill which are needed in
the employees of the marketing department. It is very essential for them to convey
the benefits of the goods and services to the consumer in a very clear manner.
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 Problem-Solving skill:- this skill not only help in listening the issue of consumer
related to the product properly but also help in removing the hurdles and covert the
needs and wants into the sales (Yamin 2017). Thinking out of the box is the main
quality of the marketing employees.
6.2 Skills needed by Human Resource Management employees:
 Patience:- the main quality which are needed in the HRM employees is calmness
and patience. Sometime staff members of this department face that type of
complaints which are intolerable, at that time patience is required to find a
appropriate solution.
 Negotiable:- the employees of this department should have excellent negotiable
skills which not only help them in solving the conflict between the two parties but
also benefit the employees and organization both.
6.3 Skills needed by Customer Service employees:
 Clear communication skill:- Employees of this department should be clear and
understandable to the consumer while communicating the benefits of the product.
 Empathy:- This department is act as face of the company. The employees of this
department have capacity to understand the emotions and ability to acknowledge
the point of view of customer.
6.4 Skills needed by Finance employees:
 Analytical thinking:- this skill is needed in the employees of the financial department
which help in analyzing the different issues and drive a thoughtful solution of the
problem.
 Accounting skills:- this skill required which help an individual to track and record all
the transaction of business which is related to business efficiently and effectively.
They should also know the basic accounting principle(Yankah, Aigbavboa and Thwala
2018).
6.5 Skills needed by Research and Development employees:
 Time management:- employees of this department should be well organized and
have capability to divide the task, set the time limit and complete the task within the
set time limit.
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 Thinking skills:- the staff members of this department required excellent thinking skill
which help them in innovating the product according the market demand.
6.6 Skills needed by Sales employees:
 Product knowledge:- the employees of this department are called sales
representative (Yulianto, Sudirman and Setiawan 2021). It is very important for them to
have full knowledge about the product so that they can easily communicate with the
customer.
 Active listening:- it very important for them to be always attentive and understand
what the customer is trying to say. Good understanding and listening properly the
needs and wants of consumer drive up the sales.
Conclusion
From the above report it is concluded that there are different types of functional area
in an organization and different skills are required in each department to achieve a
successful position in market. John is being advice to pay attention upon the above
mentioned functions and skill in order to experience a fine success. John is also being
advice to have proper team with presence of balance in each department.
References
Epizitone, A. and Olugbara, O.O., 2019. Critical success factors for ERP system implementation to
support financial functions. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal. 23(6).
pp.1-11.
Gorbunov, V. and Lvov, A.G., 2021. Analysis of small and medium business: Constructing
production functions with estimating effective funds. Ekonomika i matematicheskie
metody. 57(3). pp.45-56.
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Heines, R and Et .al., 2021. Need for Change: Business Functions Affected by the Use of
Decentralized Information Systems. In Proceedings of the Forty-Second International
Conference on Information Systems. Association for Information Systems.
Hult, G.T.M., Gonzalez-Perez, M.A. and Lagerström, K., 2020. The theoretical evolution and use of
the Uppsala Model of internationalization in the international business ecosystem. Journal
of International Business Studies. 51(1). pp.38-49.
Lushnikova, O., 2019. Entrepreneurship: Social Functions, Business Features and Psychological
Determinants of Success. Psychology. Journal of Higher School of Economics. 16(4).
pp.674-689.
Yamin, M., 2017. Database design and implementation of CSR functions: a case study of Saudi
Arabian banking environment. International Journal of Information Technology. 9(4).
pp.389-394.
Yankah, J.E., Aigbavboa, C. and Thwala, W., 2018. Explication of challenges with acceptance of
marketing functions in the management of construction business enterprise. In Proceedings
of the 21st International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and
Real Estate (pp. 745-758). Springer, Singapore.
Yulianto, E., Sudirman, I. and Setiawan, A., 2021. Developing a Conceptual Model of
Implementation of Business Functions Integration in the Internal Business Process
Performance. Asia Proceedings of Social Sciences. 8(2). pp.73-78.
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