Introduction to Business Studies

This document provides an introduction to Business Studies, focusing on the role of HR, marketing, and finance functions within an organization. It also explores collaborative working practices and the role of financial management. The case study used is Tesco, a British multinational groceries company.

Introduction to Business Studies
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................................5
Determine an understanding of collaborative working practices............................................................5
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................................6
(Covered in Ppt.)......................................................................................................................................6
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................................6
Determine the role of financial management within the organization....................................................6
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Business studies is define as the business process which helps organization to grow and
develop by delivering quality products and services in order to meet the needs and requirements
of customers (Ghauri, Grønhaug and Strange, 2020). It includes study of various concept such as
accounts, marketing, human resource and many more which help organization in carrying its
business operations in most effective manner. The organization taken for this report is TESCO.
The company has able to established its brand name in UK marketplace with its large range of
products. Tesco is a British multinational groceries established in England, UK by Jack Cohen in
year 1919. The topics covered in the report are role of human resource, marketing and finance
functions within the organization, collaborative working practices, understanding of external and
internal factors and its impact on the operations of business. The role of financial management
within the organization.
TASK 1
Explain the role of HR, marketing and finance functions within an organization.
In an organization there are various department which are responsible to carry the
operations and functions of business (Morris, 2010). These department are Human resource,
finance, IT, marketing and many more. With the help of these department organization would
able achieve its desire goals and objectives. In context of Tesco these department play important
role which is describe below-
Human resource department- HR department play crucial role in the organization that
is they have to focus on employment law and need to ensure that employees are satisfied with the
organization culture and workplace environment. The core function of HR department within
Tesco is as follow-
 Recruitment- This is one of the main function of HR department where they are
responsible to manage and maintain the staffing level within the Tesco. It’s the role of
HR to hire the right candidate for the right job in order to provide skilled and capable
employees to the company. It is the continuous process that is depend on the requirement
of the business and on business expansion. Within Tesco the HR department has proper
understanding of the various job roles which help them in performing their job effectively
and efficiently.
 Employee relations- Employees are the most important assets of the business that is
building good relation with employees can lead to increase in productivity and will
provide benefit to the company. It’s the responsibility of HR department to make the
employees comfortable and make them informed about every information. In context of
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Tesco, the HR department make everyone informed about the happening by regulating
HR newsletter which has proper information.
Marketing department- The marketing department play important role in organization that is
they are responsible for promotional activities (Janssens and Steyaert, 2014). In context of Tesco,
the marketing department is the face of the company as they are one who provide information to
the customers regarding new products and services. In Tesco, the role of marketing department is
described below-
 Defining and managing brand name- The marketing department function for
formulating the good image of company in the marketplace and among the customers.
They are responsible for maintaining the brand reputation of the company with the
help of various promotional activities.
 Conducting marketing campaign for the business- The marketing department in Tesco
identifies the trends in marketplace and the needs of customers. On the bases of their
observation they design marketing campaign for the business on various popular
platform in order to inform and attract its potential customers.
 Monitoring and managing social media- The marketing department manages the
social media accounts of the company and regularly post engaging content on it in
order to increase the sales volume. With the advancement in technology and
according to current trends most of the people are spending their time on various
social platforms.
Finance department- This department is a part of company which carries the work related to
allocation and acquisition of fund (Hassett and Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, 2013). In context of
Tesco, finance department ensure efficient financial management within the operations of
business.
 Bookkeeping- It is one of the most essential function of finance department in which they
analyses and record the day to day activities which are taking place in the company. On
the bases of these activities and actions they formulate the financial account and balance
sheet of the company.
 Budgeting and forecasting- The finance department within Tesco works in coordination
with the managers in order to prepare the budget of the operations of business and
forecasts the future needs.
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TASK 2
Determine an understanding of collaborative working practices.
Collaboration is one of the biggest element which provide great support to business in
driving success. It helps in determining the performance level of employees and the difficulties
faced by them at workplace (Bae and Salomon, 2010). In context of Tesco, the collaborative
working practices provide benefit to the organization and is describe below-
 Promotes self analysis- Collaboration helps employees and the management to think
differently in order to identify the various growth opportunities at individual and for the
organization. Moreover it helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses on which
management need to work. Working in team provides better and effective results.
 Problem solving- Working in team where efforts of individuals are made in team where
variety of knowledge and skills are formulated together provide better and effective
results.
 Decision making process- When all the employees put their suggestions and viewpoint on
the particular issues or problem then it lead to better and quick decision making. As a
result better outcomes are been experienced by the company which helps in increasing
the sales and profit margins.
 Communication – Collaboration must be communicated to all the members as they
should be provided with defined roles so that no misunderstanding take place. Moreover
when employees have clear understanding of what they have to do then they would work
more effectively and efficiently.
 Establish team goals- When team work together in order to provide desire results then it’s
important for leaders to set measurable goals with the team. This helps in on time
completion of task which provides effective result to the company and determines where
improvement is needed.
 Encourage innovation- In tesco, the leaders motivate its team member to perform better
and to take steps towards innovative work. In this business where company is facing high
competition in marketplace, by brining innovation and creativity they would be able to
attract large number of customers (Melin, Nordqvist and Sharma, 2013).
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TASK 3
(Covered in Ppt.)
TASK 4
Determine the role of financial management within the organization.
The role of financial management is very important within the company as it helps the
company in carrying its operations most effectively and efficiently (Peterson, Arregle and
Martin, 2020). In context of Tesco, the role of financial management is describe below-
Stakeholders- These are those people who are important part of business that have vital
interest in the operations of business. In context of Tesco, the stakeholders are categorized as
customers, shareholders and suppliers. Customers are the most important stakeholders of the
company as they are the one who determine the sales, profitability and market share of the
business. Shareholders are the owners of the business that is they have invested their money in
the company with the motive of earing profit (Chua and et.al., 2012).
Financial decisions and control- Financial management play important role in the
company as they are responsible to take financial decisions and to control the activities related to
finances within the organization. Financial ratio analysis is the tool of financial management
which helps the stakeholders to analyse and evaluate the performance of business on the bases of
various factors and its position in the industry. In context of Tesco, it has abled to satisfy its
customers from its range of products and holds good position in marketplace
Financial planning- The finance manager are answerable for the arranging of money
related exercises and assets in the association. To this end, they utilize accessible information to
comprehend the necessities and needs of the association just as the general monetary
circumstance and make arrangements and spending plans for the equivalent.
Capital Management- It is the duty of finance administration to assess the capital
necessities of the association every once in a while, decides the capital structure and piece and
settles on the decision of wellspring of financing for the capital requirements.
Cash flow Management- It is critical for associations to have adequate working capital
and income to meet their operational costs and crises. Financial management tracks creditor
liability and receivable to guarantee there is adequate income accessible consistently (Aral,
Dellarocas and Godes, 2013).
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been concluded that the environmental factors play important
role in the operations of business. These environmental factors are internal and factors which
need to monitored and regulated by the management in order to accomplish the desire goals and
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objectives. The organization need to formulate strategy according the market trends and after
evaluating the methods of competitors. If the work is carried in coordination and in collaboration
with other employees then it leads to on time competition of tasks and drives effective results.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Ghauri, P., Grønhaug, K. and Strange, R., 2020. Research methods in business studies.
Cambridge University Press.
Morris, C., 2010. Quantitative approaches in business studies. Pearson Education.
Janssens, M. and Steyaert, C., 2014. Re-considering language within a cosmopolitan
understanding: Toward a multilingual franca approach in international business
studies. Journal of International Business Studies. 45(5). pp.623-639.
Hassett, M.E. and Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, E. eds., 2013. Handbook of longitudinal research
methods in organisation and business studies. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bae, J.H. and Salomon, R., 2010. Institutional distance in international business research. In The
past, present and future of international business & management. Emerald Group
Publishing Limited.
Melin, L., Nordqvist, M. and Sharma, P. eds., 2013. The SAGE handbook of family business.
Sage.
Peterson, M.F., Arregle, J.L. and Martin, X., 2020. Multilevel models in international business
research. In Research Methods in International Business (pp. 417-432). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Chua, J.H. and et.al., 2012. Sources of heterogeneity in family firms: An introduction.
Aral, S., Dellarocas, C. and Godes, D., 2013. Introduction to the special issue—social media and
business transformation: a framework for research. Information Systems Research. 24(1).
pp.3-13.
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