Functional Areas of Business: Skills Required by Employees Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the functional areas within a business, detailing the operations and importance of each department. It covers key areas such as Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Advertising, Production and Operations, Information Technology, Legal, Research & Development, Purchase & Sales, and Customer Service. The report analyzes the factors affecting each department, including internal and external influences. Furthermore, it highlights the essential individual skill sets required by employees across these functional areas, such as communication, decision-making, flexibility, leadership, time management, and teamwork. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of efficient administration of these functional areas to achieve organizational goals and the significance of employee skills in achieving business objectives.

FUNCTIONAL AREAS
OF BUSINESS /
SKILLS REQUIRED
BY THE EMPLOYEES
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY................................................................................................................................................3
FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF BUSINESS.....................................................................................................3
1) HUMAN RESOURCE (HR)..........................................................................................................3
Factors that affects the HR department:........................................................................................................3
External Factors:.......................................................................................................................................3
Internal Factors:.........................................................................................................................................4
2) ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE..................................................................................................4
3) MARKETING AND ADVERTISING...........................................................................................4
4) PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS................................................................................................4
5) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY................................................................................................5
6) LEGAL DEPARTMENT...............................................................................................................5
7) RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION...........................................................................5
8) PURCHASE & SALES..................................................................................................................5
9) CUSTOMER SERVICE.................................................................................................................6
INDIVIDUAL SKILL SETS........................................................................................................................6
1. COMMUNICATION.........................................................................................................................6
2. DECISION MAKING & COMMITMENT.......................................................................................6
3. FLEXIBILITY & INTEGRITY.........................................................................................................6
4. LEADERSHIP & MOTIVATION & INNOVATION......................................................................7
5. TIME MANAGEMENT & TEAMWORK........................................................................................7
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
The main objective to prepare this report is to critically examine various functional areas that are
important to any business organization .The project file analyses the working of different functional areas
and their key people. (Burton and Hassan, 2017) The report will include the types of internal and external
factors relating to the human resource department (people management) that affects an organisation.
Also, how other departments work cordially for the attainment of the objectives of the company. It will
also cover the characteristics or skills of an individual that he should possess to carry out the proper
functioning of the departments.
MAIN BODY
FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF BUSINESS
Under this topic, we will be covering the different types of departments, how they work, what are
their main activities and what is the importance of that particular department. Further we’ll look into the
various skills to be possessed by the employees associated with these areas that makes an organization
successful with the motive of fulfilling its customer’s need by providing with the best of services at least
cost.( Burton, A. A. and Hassan, S. A) Now let’s see the functional areas of the business in detail:
1) HUMAN RESOURCE (HR)
The main function of the Human resource department is the Recruitment process, which is also
considered as one of the most important function in an organization. Recruiting the right people at
the right time and at the right place is the work performed by the HR department. There is a false
belief that HR is just limited to hiring people but it is far more than just recruiting. HR department
also advises the management about the legal rights and responsibilities of the company and the
employees. (Markoulli, Byington, and Felps, 2017). It monitors and keep records of the staff to
check whether the work is done in a proper manner. It also ensures that the business is done in
compliance with the legal laws and regulations.HR department performs the main role in the
management of the company.
Factors that affects the HR department:
External Factors:
 Government regulations
 Technological advancements
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 Workforce demographics
 Economic conditions
Internal Factors:
 Corporate objectives
 Financial obligations
 Operational strategies
 Marketing mix strategies
2) ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
Accounting and Finance department is considered as the lifeblood of the organization. Though, a
business can be started without money but it can’t survive in the long run without it. The most
important source of business is capital in the form of cash. (Limbäck and Yahya, 2021) Managing
the flow of cash in and out, preparing financial statements, forecasting and budgeting controls,
maintaining the records of trade payable and receivables and measuring the actual financial
performance of the company are some of the various tasks performed under this department. It
also helps in reviewing the financial position of the company at a defined time period.
3) MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
A business wants its customers to grow, and to retain customers, one would like to possess
effective marketing and advertising strategy. They make sure of developing product packaging
and pricing for the company’s target customers. The department may perform research and do
surveys to own a much better understanding of what customers need. It also performs various
other work related to branding, social media marketing, creating content and building internal
communications for the employees.
4) PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
This functional area mainly deals in the production process, which uses raw materials in the form
of inputs to convert it into a finished product. (Guest, 2017) This includes a series of steps and
every other industry has its own process of production. To check and measure the performance of
the production department, area of operations has been developed. This department monitors,
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designs and controls the production process. This department is also of great importance as it is
where the quality of products is measured which builds the image of the company.
5) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Almost all businesses nowadays make use of computers and data systems. The (IT) Department is
held responsible for building the hardware, software and networking of computers in a business.
(Luftman, Lyytinen and Zvi, 2017) Their main tasks include: providing support to employees to
effectively use IT resources, to protect company’s data from threats, data management, and
security of information, to develop and build an effective networking area and web management.
6) LEGAL DEPARTMENT
The Legal Department is accountable for providing legal services and advice to the corporate, its
departments, and its employees. They act as the official representatives on behalf of the owner.
This department also deals with legal matters concerning the corporate including: Business
development, Contract management, Real estate transactions, Customer claims against the
corporate for product damages and defects and many other matters related to law.
7) RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION
This area includes the development of products and services based on the market research done
according to the needs and preferences of the consumers. They work with the designers to make a
suitable product which is innovative, safe and easy to use made at a reasonable cost and least
price.
8) PURCHASE & SALES
This department studies the market and analyses the industry for the demand and supply of the
products. What kind of raw materials are to be ordered, out of stock materials, how much quantity
to be supplied come under this department. If proper inventory is managed, it can result in save of
time, cost and money.
9) CUSTOMER SERVICE
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The main factor behind the success of any business is its customers. Without making its
customers happy and satisfied, no business can grow eventually. It includes addressing customers
queries and resolving them, answering inquiries to improve customer relationship which in turn
adds to the goodwill of the company.
INDIVIDUAL SKILL SETS
When a company looks for a candidate, it primarily focuses on the educational qualifications of
the individual. As much as the degree is important, the skills to perform a work also is of great
importance. (Nalawade, More and Bhola, 2019) Many employers want their employees to possess
certain skills suitable for every work profile. In the context of the related topic, some important
skills may be discussed here under:
1. COMMUNICATION
One of the most important skill the recruiters look for in an individual is communication. Having
the power to speak makes an individual complete. Whether the candidate is having full
knowledge about the topic but is not able to convey it makes it of no use. So having good verbal
and written communication skills is a must to have in a candidate.
2. DECISION MAKING & COMMITMENT
A candidate should be quick and smart enough to take a decision that benefits a company. Every
employee should have a zeal towards his work. Candidates who show commitment are more
likely to be chosen because they contribute to the overall growth of the company.
3. FLEXIBILITY & INTEGRITY
An employee should quickly adjust to his work whether it’s the same routine work or any other if
in any case of uncertainty. The employees should follow the company’s standards and procedures,
keep the company private information confidential and adhere to the policies of the organization.
4. LEADERSHIP & MOTIVATION & INNOVATION
Many candidates lack the will to guide others to perform certain tasks. But in certain job profiles,
it is taken as an important consideration to judge a candidate. (Psoni, 2020) So it is required to
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develop such leadership and mentoring skills. With the leadership skills, comes the power of
motivation.
If an employee is not motivated to do his work, he will not be able to fulfil the company’s set
targets and his own expectations as well. Innovation is considered to be a necessity for the
company. Employees who have a creative mind can develop innovative products that be much
more pleasing and profitable for the company.
5. TIME MANAGEMENT & TEAMWORK
Every employee should know how to manage their time, meet work deadlines and sort their tasks
in a prioritized way. Every employee should have the willingness to work with a team in
confident and effective manner. Managing tasks in a group is considered as an important quality
while at the time of hiring process.
CONCLUSION
By the end of this report, we conclude that the main purpose of functional areas is to make sure
that all-important business activities are administered efficiently to attain its goals. We also
studied how internal and external factors affect the people management and what all skills should
a candidate possess to make himself a goal oriented person.
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REFERENCES
Books and journal
Burton, A. A. and Hassan, S. A., 2017. FUNCTIONAL AREAS AND ORGANIZATIONAL
PERFORMANCE. European Journal of Economics and Management Sciences. (4). pp. 47-57
Markoulli, M. P., Byington, E. and Felps, W. A., 2017. Mapping Human Resource Management:
Reviewing the field and charting future directions. Human Resource Management Review.
27(3). pp. 367-396.
Guest, D. E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: Towards a new analytic
framework. Human resource management journal. 27(1). pp. 22-38.
Limbäck, I. and Yahya, S.S., 2021. The Extent of Customer Data: A study of creating value from
customer data for the finance department.
Luftman, J., Lyytinen, K. and Zvi, T.B., 2017. Enhancing the measurement of information technology
(IT) business alignment and its influence on company performance. Journal of Information
Technology, 32(1). pp. 26-46.
Nalawade, R. K., More, D. K. and Bhola, S. S., 2019. Employability Skills Required for Functional
Areas of Management. IUP Journal of Soft Skills. 13(1).
Psoni, P., 2020. The design of training programs and its contribution to developing the desired skills in
employees: the case of three companies operating in Greece. International Journal of Learning
and Change, 12(4). pp. 428-443.
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