Business Report: Assessing Business Functions - MG408 Module

This report, prepared for the MG408 Graduate Challenge module, analyzes the critical roles of various business functions, including marketing, finance, production, and human resources (HR), and demonstrates how these functions work together to ensure business success. The report defines each function, citing academic research from sources like Sleep, Lam and Hulland (2018) and Heo et al. (2018), and provides real-world examples, such as Unilever, Tesco, and GlaxoSmithKline, to illustrate the practical application of these functions. It emphasizes the importance of effective resource planning, diversified marketing campaigns, and productivity enhancements. The report also highlights the significance of HR planning in achieving organizational goals. It concludes by summarizing the key functions and their impact on business growth and expansion.

Running head: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Marketing.........................................................................................................................................2
Finance.............................................................................................................................................2
Production........................................................................................................................................3
HR activities....................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
Business activities, strategies and functions play an integral role in delivering sustenance
to a business enterprise while competing with the existing firms or entering a new market. In this
connection, the research will assess the different functions that are initiated by businesses and the
benefits that are gathered by the same.
Marketing
Marketing activities play an intrinsic role in empowering the sales volume through
extensive commercialization of the propositions and positioning the same to the desirable target
market. Sleep, Lam and Hulland (2018) reflected in a research by stating that efficient
positioning of the offerings in the markets enable an organization in attracting the attention of the
potential customers while improving the rate of sales. In this connection, Unilever took the
initiative of diversifying the marketing campaigns with the purpose of widening their scope of
making market expansions. The diversified marketing campaigns of the organization enabled the
venture in targeting a variety of audience while positioning differentiated propositions (Melton,
Damron and Vernon 2017). Therefore, the effective marketing operations of the concerned
organization enabled the business in gaining a competitive edge over the existing players in the
market.
Finance
Financial planning is an important activity that is considered by the businesses with the
purpose of analyzing and evaluating the different resources and capabilities of the same. Heo et
al. (2018) stated that effective resource planning enables an organization in planning and
executing the strategies at ease while ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the business

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processes. Budgeting and resource allocation on the basis of resources and capabilities of a
business permits in empowering the performance of the same in accordance with the changing
market needs. For an example, Tesco has taken the initiative of developing a team of financial
advisors who would act as consultants for the organization while calculating the overall
capabilities of the venture before implementing a new change in the model (Wood, Wrigley and
Coe 2017). The effective financial planning capabilities ensure business sustenance in
competitive markets.
Production
Manufacturing and production is the major activity that is conducted by organization with
the objective of providing the clients with the demanded propositions while gaining margins out
of the entire process. Objectives of an organization related to profit maximization, growth and
expansion are specifically based on the productivity of the businesses (Yang et al. 2017). For an
example, GlaxoSmithKline, a UK based pharmaceutical organization, developed a wider range
of medical propositions while adhering to the health related concerns and needs of the patients.
Increased productivity and innovation in the field of Medicare enabled GlaxoSmithKline in
increasing their margins and revenue earnings over the years, contributing to the sustenance and
worldwide growth of the venture (Schuhmacher et al. 2018).
HR activities
HR planning frames the major activity of an organization contributing to the
uninterrupted functioning of the business processes while adhering to the common goals of the
same. According to Shrivastava, Nagdev and Rajesh (2018), human resource of an organization
effectively contributes to the innovative planning and supports an organization in achieving the
common goals of the same while operating in highly competitive market places. Therefore, HR

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planning and development are the most important activities that are initiated by the businesses
for gaining a competitive edge over the existing market players.
Conclusion
Therefore, the overall study discussed the major activities that are considered by
businesses like marketing based operations, production, financial planning and human resource
related concerns. The discussion also identified the manner in which the major part of the
strategies that are framed by businesses are empowered by the activities while increasing the
scope for continuous growth and expansion in the markets.

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References
Heo, W., Park, N., Henager, R. and Grable, J.E., 2018. What do financial planning organizations
communicate to stakeholders and consumers? An empirical narrative analysis. Financial
Services Review, 27(2).
Melton, A., Damron, T. and Vernon, J., 2017. A Marketing Strategy from Corporate Social
Responsibility: Lessons from Unilever and Coca-Cola Enterprises.
Schuhmacher, A., Gassmann, O., McCracken, N. and Hinder, M., 2018. Open innovation and
external sources of innovation. An opportunity to fuel the R&D pipeline and enhance decision
making?. Journal of translational medicine, 16(1), p.119.
Shrivastava, S., Nagdev, K. and Rajesh, A., 2018. Redefining HR using people analytics: the
case of Google. Human Resource Management International Digest.
Sleep, S., Lam, S.K. and Hulland, J., 2018. The sales–marketing integration gap: a social identity
approach. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 38(4), pp.371-390.
Wood, S., Wrigley, N. and Coe, N.M., 2017. Capital discipline and financial market relations in
retail globalization: insights from the case of Tesco plc. Journal of Economic Geography, 17(1),
pp.31-57.
Yang, M., Evans, S., Vladimirova, D. and Rana, P., 2017. Value uncaptured perspective for
sustainable business model innovation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, pp.1794-1804.