FY021 Introduction to Business: The Body Shop's Key Departments

This report provides an overview of key business functions within The Body Shop, focusing on the roles of Human Resources (HR), Marketing, and Finance. It details HR's responsibilities in staffing, policy development, compensation, retention, training, and legal compliance. The marketing section covers brand management, campaign execution, content creation, and social media engagement. The finance section discusses bookkeeping, cash flow management, budgeting, financial reporting, and strategic decision support. Furthermore, the report emphasizes collaborative working practices between departments and the importance of financial management and reporting for informed decision-making and overall business success. The report concludes that a comprehensive understanding of these functions is crucial for effective business management.

FY021 Introduction to
Business Studies

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Task 3: Study on The Body Shop...........................................................................................1
Role of HR within organisation....................................................................................1
Role of marketing within organisation..........................................................................2
Role of finance within organisation..............................................................................2
Collaborative working practices within organisation...................................................3
Role of financial management and reporting within the organisation..........................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
References:.......................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Business studies can be defined as the management studies which provides the
information of running and operating the business in small or large level. It involves the
knowledge of various departments such as human resource and marketing along with the finance
and research and development which is followed by the information technology and operations
and many more as per the needs and requirements of the business (Titley and Dolan, 2020).
Organization chosen here is the body shop, it is one of the international cosmetics company
headquartered in United Kingdom and established in 1976. it provides products such as skin
care, perfumes and many more. The following discussion is based on the role of HR within
organisation and role of marketing within organisation along with the role of finance within
organisation and collaborative working practices within organisation which is followed by the
role of financial management and reporting within the organisation with proper conclusion.
MAIN BODY
Task 3: Study on The Body Shop
Role of HR within organisation
Human resource management can be defined as the employee management in the
company in a strategic manner along with the organizational management linked with the
workforce. HR has different roles in the body shop such as they are responsible for the staffing
process which includes development of a staffing plan and development of policies in order to
encourage the multiculturalism at work along with the recruitment and selection. Development
of workplace policies such as discipline process policy and vacation time policy along with the
dress code and ethics policy (Peterson, Arregle and Martin, 2020). Compensation and benefits
administration such as pay and heath benefits along with the retirement plans and stock purchase
plans which is followed by the sick leaves and bonuses and also the tuition reimbursement.
Retention such as examining the issues around the job and challenges with managers along with
the poor fit with organisational culture and poor workplace environment for better resolution.
Training and development such as job skills training and training on communication along with
the team building activities and policy and legal training. Dealing with laws affecting
employment such as discrimination laws and health care requirements along with the
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compensation requirements and worker safety laws and also the labour laws. Worker protection
such as chemical hazards and heating and ventilation requirements along with the use of no
fragrance zone and protection of private employees information. Awareness of external factors
such as globalization and employee expectations along with the diversity and demographics
which is followed by the lay-offs and technology and also the use of social networking sites
(Gray, 2019).
Role of marketing within organisation
Marketing can be defined as the activity which supports in promotion of the business and
fulfilling the mission of the company in order to increase sales and large revenue with profit
margins. Marketing has different roles in the body shop such as they are responsible for the
definition and management of the brand so that they can create awareness of the company's
products among target customers in order to maintain and manage the customer relationships for
a long with with great loyalty (Ragab and Arisha, 2018). Conducting campaign management for
marketing initiatives is also the responsibility of marketing domain such as marketing people
initiates the campaign so that they can display their products in the marketplace in order to attract
the customers in large number for purchases. Producing marketing and promotional materials is
an important function of marketing people which they performs because these materials helps
them to gain the attention form the customer and then customers visits the stores to make
purchases. Creating content providing search engine optimization for the company's website so
that the ranking of the website can lead the search engine results when people searches about the
branded cosmetics which is under the digital marketing tool. Moreover, monitoring and
managing the social media along with the producing the internal communications and serving as
media liaison which is followed by the customer and market research and also the overseeing
outside vendors and agencies (Busco and Quattrone, 2018).
Role of finance within organisation
Financial management can be defined as the funds management in the company to
analyse the examine the expenses and cost acquired by the firm in the activities of the
organization. Finance has different roles in the body shop such as they are responsible for the
bookkeeping which manages and handles the records of internal and external stakeholders of the
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company so that the accounting can be clear from both the aspects of the firm in a systematic
manner. Management of company's cash flow is an another responsibility such as they monitor
that where the funds are spending along with the extra expenses and savings as well. This all
relates to the cash flow within organization. Budgets and forecasting is also the responsibility
such as, as per the needs and requirements of the company, budgeting is done so that the
forecasting can be performed in an accurate manner for better future predictions and strategic
decision making in the company associated with the expenses in each and every department of
the company. Advising and sourcing longer term financing is also the responsibility of the
finance domain where the people are accountable for suggesting the sources of finances which
can benefit the firm in many ways for a long duration of time. Moreover, management of taxes
and management of company's investments along with the financial reporting and analysis and
assistance to the managers in making key strategic decisions (Teece, 2018).
Collaborative working practices within organisation
Collaborative working practices within organization describes the combining activities of
each and every department of the body shop which means that all the domains of the company
are working together and are interdependent on each other for their own personal job roles also.
For example, the collaboration between human resource and marketing departments are such that
if HR don't hire the employees who are expertise in sales and marketing functioning then
marketing departments will not be able to wok well as per the expectations. If marketing is not
done properly of the brand then less number of people will be willing to apply in the company
for the job post. Thereby, affecting both the departments even if only one is not functioning in a
proper manner (Kuntze, Wu, Wooldridge and Whang, 2019). Similarly, collaboration between
marketing and finance departments are such that if marketing people are doing expenses more
than the set budget by the finance people than then there will be the shortage of funds. If finance
people did not forecast the budget properly then marketing people will face difficulty in spending
on the marketing activities. Thereby, affecting both the departments even if only one is not
functioning in a proper manner. Collaboration between finance and human resources are such
that if HR people are not able to hire the knowledgeable candidates for finance then it ca affect
the financial management as a whole. If finance people did not report the proper budget to the
HR people then hiring expenses can cost more than expected. Thereby, affecting both the
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departments even if only one is not functioning in a proper manner (Easterby-Smith, Jaspersen,
Thorpe and Valizade, 2021).
Role of financial management and reporting within the organisation
Financial management people reporting within the body shop with various records and
what they have analysed during their working and examination within the company. Such as they
report the business success approximation and rules and management of taxes along with the
access to finance in a better way and controlling the cost of the business which is followed by the
measurements of success reports and also the improvement of weak areas. Moreover, financial
decisions and control and financial planning along with the capital management and allocation
and utilization of financial resources which is followed by the cash flow management and
disposal of surplus and also the risk management activities are all report to the senior
management of the firm. It all helps the firm in optimizing the marketing activities and focuses
on growth areas along with the enhancement of staff strength and prediction of risks and
avoiding them. Therefore, financial reporting plays an important role within organization for
better decision making process (Argenti, 2018).
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that business studies is an important concept to learn and understand so
that its application can be applied in the real world organizations. This is because it helps in
management of the functioning of the company in an effective and efficient manner. Therefore, it
is important to analyse the role of HR within organisation. It is essential to examine the role of
marketing within organisation. It is necessary to determine the role of finance within
organisation. It is significant to gain the knowledge about the collaborative working practices
within organisation. It is crucial to assess the role of financial management and reporting within
the organisation. Hence, this report covers all such areas in order to better understand the
conception of business studies.
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References:
Books and Journals
Argenti, J., 2018. Corporate planning: A practical guide. Routledge.
Busco, C. and Quattrone, P., 2018. Performing business and social innovation through
accounting inscriptions: An introduction. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 67,
pp.15-19.
Easterby-Smith, M., Jaspersen, L.J., Thorpe, R. and Valizade, D., 2021. Management and
business research. Sage.
Gray, D.E., 2019. Doing research in the business world. Sage.
Kuntze, R., Wu, C.K., Wooldridge, B.R. and Whang, Y.O., 2019. Improving financial literacy in
college of business students: modernizing delivery tools. International Journal of Bank
Marketing.
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.
Ragab, M.A. and Arisha, A., 2018. Research methodology in business: A starter’s
guide. Management and Organizational Studies. 5(1). pp.1-14.
Teece, D.J., 2018. Business models and dynamic capabilities. Long range planning. 51(1).
pp.40-49.
Titley, B. and Dolan, C., 2020. Complete Business Studies for Cambridge IGCSE® and O Level.
Oxford University Press-Children.
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