Introduction to Business Studies: HR, Marketing, and Finance Report

This report provides an introduction to business studies, focusing on the roles of Human Resources (HR), Marketing, and Finance within an organization, using Sainsbury's as a case study. It details the specific functions of each department, including hiring, training, pricing, promotions, budgeting, and cash flow management. The report emphasizes the importance of collaborative working practices to enhance employee skills, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction. It also explores the role of financial management, including financial control, investment opportunities, and risk management, along with the significance of financial reporting within the organization. The report concludes by highlighting the interconnectedness of these departments and their impact on Sainsbury's competitive advantage and overall success. The report references key academic sources to support its analysis.

INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS STUDIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
Roles of HR, Marketing and Finance..........................................................................................3
Understanding Of Collaborative Working Practices...................................................................4
The Role of Financial Management and Reporting....................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Business can only function when there is a combine framework of all departments
together. Business has to have right strategies but other important factor is work force they have
to make objective be met so that organization can make profit in market. Team work is very
important so that objectives and aims of firm can be met faster and market can be penetrated on a
high level. Human resource has to make sure that functions are being followed and industry is
being able to meet objectives from time to time.
Sainsbury's is a public limited company which has its headquarters in London, United
Kingdom. Number of employees working in this company were 186,900 as of 2018, net income
was £309 million and revenue generation was £28.456 in same year. Number of locations in
which this industry has expanded itself are in 1,415.
Study would consist of role of finance, human resource and marketing in an organization.
Collaborative working within organization so that they can effectively achieve goals and
objectives. Roles of financial management in organization and importance of that factor.
LO 1
Roles of HR, Marketing and Finance
Human Resource Hiring- Human resource of Sainsbury's is an experienced department which is helping
company to get in skilled and expert employees in organization so that they can make
most benefit from that factor (Yoke and Ngang, 2017). It is very important for Sainsbury
to have right employees so that functioning and process of strategies can take place in
company effectively and efficiently. Reward and Incentives- This department helps to motivate employees by giving them
incentives or rewards for hard work they have put to accomplish a target of organization.
Employees must get something more from organization so that they do same effort for
organization again and again.
 Training- It is very important that employees of firm are matching standards of
organization and if they are not then human resource must make sure that they are trained
so that standards of firm can be met.
Marketing

 Pricing- Marketing department have to understand customers of company and then
decide on price of products so that they can satisfy the demand of the customers. Promotions- Marketing team also has to make budgets and strategies to promote
products which Sainsbury is getting in market. Promotion is a very important factor
which marketing department of organization are doing it well (Vogel, Hattke and
Petersen, 2017).
 Product Management- Improving, designing, developing and maintaining a product is
decided by marketing team because they analysis customers. According to the analysis
the changes and decisions are made by the marketing team.
Finance Budgeting- Finance department will have to find ways through which they can make the
revenue generate and make the most from that. Revenue should be used in a manner in
which there is no loss for the company. Forecast- Finance should have a forecast plan with them so that they can use the revue
better. Finance should make sure that they are using the cash in the company in the places
where it is required (Meyer and Peng, 2016).
 Cash Flow Management- Finance department of Sainsbury decides if they should invest
or expand the organization so that they can make the revenue of the company be used
better.
LO 2
Understanding Of Collaborative Working Practices
Sainsbury's is using collaborative techniques to increase the quality of employees and also make
them potential to achieve the healthy working environment. This will help to improve the skills and
knowledge of employees to achieve the objectives and also implement new strategies. With the help of
collaborative practices Sainsbury's will also increase the efficiency of every employee and will also
increase the customer's satisfaction. This will help the company to motivate all employees to increase
their shared values and integrate with vision of the company. It is very important for all the employees of
the organization to work together so that the objectives and aims of the company can be met. It is
essential for the organizations to have a better understanding for themselves in the company so that they
can make a competitive advantage for themselves in the market.

With the help of collaborative practice it will impact the communication channel of Sainsbury
and also improve the quality of communicating within the organization.
 This will also help the organization to increase the high performance team and achieve
the goals more effectively.
 Collaborative work will also help Sainsbury to be more effective in understanding the
issues and problems of employees and providing them aid faster.
 With this practice disputes in the company will be decreased and it will also increase the
quality of skills and knowledge.
 This also increases the analytical skills to increase the decision-making process and value
all the factors which will improve the quality of work and achieve the teams goals.
LO 4
The Role of Financial Management and Reporting
Finance Management plays a major role in organizing, managing and handling various
financial takings for an organization. The objectives of financial management includes
profitability, managing cash flow and utilization of funds (Teagarden, Von Glinow and Mellahi,
2018).
Role of financial management in Sainsbury
The role includes managing of financial resources and increasing profitability by
deciding the capital required for Sainsbury. Also, investing the capital properly and keeping the
clear record for it on timely basis is essential. Financial management is very essential in retail
business as it helps to understand all the cost which is incurred for the products in the company
and it will also help to increase the productivity of employees with training and development
with will help to decrease the cost of company to train new employees they can retain the
existing employees by educating them and increasing their skills,
 Financial control and decisions, the financial management at Sainsbury plays vital role by
managing, directing, reporting and controlling financial resources of it.
 Sainsbury's using financial management as it helps to increase the capital formation
process of the company and also help to support its growth and increase profit margins.

 Financial management also help to identify all the resources which will help to provide
information and decrease the cost of all the resources of the company (Beugelsdijk,
Kostova and Roth, 2017).
 With the help of financial management Sainsbury's also increase the quality of their
stores with effective allocation of funds in operating all types of activities and provide
improve infrastructure to attract more customers.
 Financial management also helps Sainsbury's to provide offers and discounts to
customers so that it can increase loyal customers and retain them in the company and
increase the sales.
 Risk controlling is also the factor which is covered in financial management as the
company is focused to expand its business in various market to increase its productivity.
 Investment opportunities, the finance provides the correct time to invest in any
opportunity and providing profitability to owners as well as shareholders.
 Profit allocation, as a part of managing finance management also manages the allocation
of the profits efficiently and effectively.
 Managing risks, as an important part the finance management also manages future risks
by proper planning involving mitigation and emergencies.
Reporting within the organisation
 Managing cash flows within the organization for running successful business and generating
profits in long go.
 Presenting the reports in front of board of directors which includes details on financial statements
and other necessary information regarding finances.
 The report includes updated balance sheets and report on profits and loss incurred by other
departments in Sainsbury (Ghauri, Grønhaug and Strange, 2020).
 It includes the information about how Sainsbury is performing overall and the future scope of
increasing funds and finances for it by detailed reports.
 It lays emphasis on utilization of resources by the departments and the measures required for
efficient controlling and using of those as per the availability.
 Financial reports are internal and changes according to the economy, finance rates and
based on several factors. This requires timely updation and management of report by the
financial manager. Financial management plays a key role in managing all the funds and
handling duties a well managed financial report balances the organization.

CONCLUSION
Sainsbury is a well organized company which is having a strong work force for
themselves. It is very important for the organization to have better employee team so that they
can make the most from that factor. The roles and functions are equally divided in the employees
so that the working of the organization can take place in systematic manner which is a very
important factor for Sainsbury because they have a lot of experience in this field. All the
problems and conflicts in the organization are being solved from time to time so that the people
of the organization have a healthy environment to work in so that they can make the organization
achieve the aims and objectives. Due to the experience the company is having the work is being
done well and that is making the organization have a competitive advantage.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alvarez, J.L. ed., 2016. The diffusion and consumption of business knowledge. Springer.
Beugelsdijk, S., Kostova, T. and Roth, K., 2017. An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level
culture research in international business since 2006. Journal of International Business
Studies. 48(1). pp.30-47.
Ghauri, P., Grønhaug, K. and Strange, R., 2020. Research methods in business studies.
Cambridge University Press.
Meyer, K.E. and Peng, M.W., 2016. Theoretical foundations of emerging economy business
research. Journal of International Business Studies. 47(1). pp.3-22.
Peng, M.W. and Lebedev, S., 2017. Intra-national business (IB).
Teagarden, M.B., Von Glinow, M.A. and Mellahi, K., 2018. Contextualizing international
business research: Enhancing rigor and relevance. Journal of World Business. 53(3).
pp.303-306.
Vogel, R., Hattke, F. and Petersen, J., 2017. Journal rankings in management and business
studies: What rules do we play by?. Research Policy. 46(10). pp.1707-1722.
Yoke, T.C. and Ngang, T.K., 2017. A study on soft skill development among final year diploma
in business studies students. MOJEM: Malaysian Online Journal of Educational
Management. 3(2). pp.32-50.