BSc Business Management BMP3004: Functional Areas in the Workplace

This report provides an overview of the key functional areas within a business organization, including marketing, human resource management, customer service, finance, research and development, and sales. Each area is defined, and its importance to the overall success of the business is discussed. The report also details the specific skills and competencies required for employees to work effectively in each functional area, such as communication and creative skills for marketing employees, decision-making and conflict resolution skills for human resource management, and analytical thinking and accounting skills for finance employees. The importance of managing and executing the working of functional areas in a productive manner and the need for companies to focus on building employee skills in these areas to gain a competitive advantage are emphasized. Desklib offers a wealth of resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to aid students in their studies.

BSc (Hons) Business Management with
Foundation
BMP3004
World of Work
Functional Areas
Submitted by:
Name:
ID:
Contents
0

1.0 Introduction p
2.0 What is a business? p
3.0 What is Functional areas of business – Definition
p
4.0 What are the key functional areas of a business?
P
5.0 Description of the various functional areas in business
organizations p-p
5.1 Marketing p
5.2 Human Resource Management p
5.3 Customer Service p
5.4 Finance p
5.5 Research and Development p
5.6 Sales p
6.0 Description of the types of skills needed by employees
to be able to work effectively in these functional areas
p-p
6.1 Skills needed by Marketing employees p
6.2 Skills needed by Human Resource Management employees
p
6.3 Skills needed by Customer Service employees
p
6.4 Skills needed by Finance employees p
6.5 Skills needed by Research and Development employees
p
6.6 Skills needed by Sales employees p
1

7.0 Conclusion p
References p
2

1.0 Introduction
Functional area can be characterised as a significant department or area of an
institution which focuses on executing work operations in regard with aparticular
business function of a given entity (Tseane-Gumbi, 2018). The report highlights
upon the key functional areas of a business organisation. In addition to this, the
report also discusses the necessary skills and competencies required for the
employees so as to work under the specified functional areas.
2.0 What is a business?
A business can be defined as an institution which aims at conducting several
practices and process is in order to achieve profit within the market domain. The
Primary motive of setting up a business is to generate adequate revenues in order to
meet up to the expenses and acquire considerable profit.
3.0 What is Functional areas of business - Definition
The functional areas of business can be defined as the specific divisions within a
business organization which are formed for the purpose of enhancing and elevating
proficiency in a set area of specialization (Nalawade, More and Bhola, 2019). A
business firm consists of numerous functional areasand the work is divided within
the organization based upon the concerned functional areas. The employees
execute their day to day operations within their functional division.
4.0 What are the key functional areas of a business?
The key functional areas of a business entity can be determined as the core areas
Witcher considered as the significant part of the firm. For instance, marketing,
finance, HR, sales etc. are few of the prominent examples which can be considered
as the key functional departments of a business organization.
3

5.0 Description of the various functional areas in business
organizations
5.1 Marketing:
Marketing can be characterized as a functional area which primarily focuses upon
communicating and promoting the organizational products and services within the
market domain. It involves elevation of brand recognition within the competitive
market domain through advertisements, campaigns etc. in order to attract the target
customer towards the offerings provided by the concerned business institutions.
Marketing plays a vital role in building the brand positioning through enhancing the
interest of the customer towards the organizational offering catered by the firm.
5.2 Human Resource Management
Human Resource Department is entitled to maintain an adequate pool of employees
within the organization so as to ensure the accomplishment of organizational goals
and objectives in a prominent mannerism. Human resource departments responsible
for increasing the employee retention and productivity of the workforce serving within
the organization (Stawiarska and et. al., 2021). It helps to reduce and eliminate
disputes and conflicts among the workforce and higher management. It regulates the
salary and compensation of the employees and make sure that each and every
employee is considered equally and treated fairly. It ensures that no discrimination or
unfair practice prevails within the institution.
5.3 Customer Service:
Customer service refers to the assurance facilitated by a firm to its existing
customers in regard with providing them satisfactory services which fulfill their
demands and satisfy their needs and desires in an appropriate manner. The
respective functional area can be stated as one of the most crucial areas for a
business organization. The reason for the same can be stated as the profit margin
facilitated through the appropriate capitalization of the given area in a business firm.
It can be said that the firms who focus upon providing optimum customer services to
4

their customers are likely to gain higher customer retention. Moreover, elevated
attention towards customer services helps to increase customers trust and faith
towards the organizational products and services which in turn increases the sales
and revenues of the firm in the long term.
5.4 Finance
Finance department of a business firm is responsible for ensuring timely acquisition
and maintenance of funds within the institution. The finance department ensures that
the company maintain a sufficient flow of funds in order to run the routine business
processes and operations in a flexible manner (Liu and et. al., 2020). Finance
department also oversees that the firm pay off its debts within the timely duration. It
facilitates the regularization of revenues as well as expenditure within the workplace
so as to ensure that the company does not run out of the funds and run its business
functions smoothly.
5.5 Research and Development
The business organization set up research and development department to conduct
an effective market research so as to identify the emerging and existing trends and
fluctuations within the market segments. It further helps the organization to modify
and make changes in their current business processes to suit the requirements of
the market trends (Busłowska and Waligóra, 2018). This assists the company to
maintain their relevance and reliability within the market environment and provide a
tough competition to their rival companies. It is a significant function of a business
entity To formulate a competent and skilled R&D department in order to acquire
higher market share, growth and sustainability within the marketplace.
5.6 Sales
The sales department can be termed as the most important and necessary part of a
business institution because it serves efforts for selling the organizational products
and services to the prospective customers. The sales workforce is responsible for
building healthy relationship with the clients of the company in order to heighten the
revenue margins of the same. The sales personnel formulate several effective
strategies and tactical sales plans in order to generate higher sales in the favor of
5

the company by identifying and meeting up to the expectations of the customers in a
considerable manner.
6.0 Description of the types of skills needed by employees
to be able to work effectively in these functional areas
6.1 Skills needed by Marketing employees:
Marketing employees are required to acquire communication skills in order to
persuade and attract the target customers it is necessary to communicate the
purpose and value proposition of products and services to the same (Varava, Varava
and Marchenko, 2020). It is necessary for them to obtain creative skills so as to
come up with new and innovative ideas, approaches and tactics to increase the
popularity and sales of the organizational offering in the competitive environment.
Marketing personnel should also focus upon enhancing their interpersonal and
relationship building skills so as to reach out to the customers in a better manner and
win their trust effectively.
6.2 Skills needed by Human Resource Management employees:
Human resource personnel must exhibit highly proficient decision making capabilities
as they are responsible for selecting and recruiting talented and qualified employees
who suits the required positions of the business organization. The HR department
also needs to focus upon conflict resolution capabilities so as to manage the
unnecessary issues and problems among the employees in a appropriate
way.Negotiation skills are also very prominent for HR employees as they need to
negotiate and discuss salary, compensation and perks and benefit criterion with the
employees in order to come up with an agreement which suits the requirement of
6

organisation and live up to the expectation of the employee as well. HR should also
possess administrative as well as management capabilities to regulate the workplace
activities effectively.
6.3 Skills needed by Customer Service employees:
In order to become a highly competent customer service employee, it is necessary
for an individual to capitalize upon persuasive speaking ability (Butrich Cisneros,
2021). The employees in the given department should also be patient enough to
listen to the queries and complaints of the customers effectively so as to resolve
them in the best manner possible. The customer service employees must showcase
empathy and compassion towards the customers and understand their point of view
in order to provide them solutions which are relevant to their area of concern. The
sales employee must be optimistic in every situation in order to create healthy and
positive relationship with the organizational customers.
6.4 Skills needed by Finance employees:
It is necessary for finance employees to build analytical thinking ability as well as
accounting skills in order to manage the books of accounts in a accurately. They
must also ensure adequate expertise within the field of business intelligence as well
as financial management. Responsible management is also very significant when it
comes to financial employees as they need to be highly accurate with their
analyzation and assessment so as to project the financial records and position of the
company effectively.
6.5 Skills needed by Research and Development employees:
In order to conduct a viable and feasible research, the employees must concentrate
upon building problem solving capabilities. The employees working under research
and development area should also practice data analysis in order to conduct the
proficient and precise analyzation of the primary and secondary sources available
within the business domain. Time management can also be termed as a vital skill for
research and development employees as they need to complete their research goals
and objectives within the time limit and deadline set by the firms in order to acquire
optimum results of the concerned research.
7

6.6 Skills needed by Sales employees:
The generation of higher sales requires massive persuasion ability by the end of the
sales person (Ye, Xiao and Zhou, 2019). This means that the sales employees must
have proper command over their speaking and listening abilities so as to acquire the
faith of the customers and sell them the products and services as per their choice
and desire. Sales employees must focus upon ensuring that they have adequate
knowledge and expertise in regards with the product which they are selling to the
customers. They must possess optimum knowledge about the respective product or
service which they want to facilitate to the clients.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the above discussion that in order to succeed and survive
in the business environment, it is crucial for the companies to manage and execute
the working of their functional areas in a productive and proactive manner. It can be
said that business institutions should provide much needed attention towards
building the skills and competencies within the employees as per their concerned
functional area in order to acquire higher added advantage in the longer run.
8

References
Busłowska, A. and Waligóra, K., 2018. The role of Integrated Territorial Investments
in supporting the competitiveness of enterprises by the example of Bialystok
Functional Area. European Journal of Service Management, 27, pp.73-78.
Butrich Cisneros, M., 2021. Mental Models of the Drivers of Corporate Sustainability
and the Role of Cross-Functional Communication on their Content and
Structure (Master's thesis).
Liu, X. and et. al., 2020. Identification of urban functional regions in chengdu based
on taxi trajectory time series data. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-
Information, 9(3), p.158.
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).
Stawiarska, E. and et. al., 2021. Diagnosis of the Maturity Level of Implementing
Industry 4.0 Solutions in Selected Functional Areas of Management of
Automotive Companies in Poland. Sustainability, 13(9), p.4867.
Tseane-Gumbi, L.A., 2018. Business Social Responsibility and Functional Areas of a
Tourism Business. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7(3),
pp.1-9.
Varava, L., Varava, A. and Marchenko, V., 2020, May. Research of the
interconnections of the components of strategic potential of the enterprise
and functional strategies. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Scientific
Conference (pp. 73-80).
Ye, S., Xiao, H. and Zhou, L., 2019. Small accommodation business growth in rural
areas: Effects on guest experience and financial performance. International
Journal of Hospitality Management, 76, pp.29-38.
9