Business Resources: ABF's Recruitment, Finance, and Operations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business resources, focusing on the Association British Food (ABF). It begins with an examination of recruitment documentation and required skills for various roles, including employability, personal, and communication skills. The report then delves into the physical and technological resources essential for company operations. It further explores sources of internal and external finance, including equity investment and retained earnings. The report also interprets trading and profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, and various financial ratios to assess profitability and liquidity. Finally, it examines the use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control within a business context, providing a detailed overview of ABF's strategic approach to resource management and financial planning.

Business Resources

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
P1 The recruitment documentation used by company ....................................................................3
P2 Main employability, personal and communication skills required for a specific job role............4
P3 Main physical and technological resources required in the operation of a company..................5
P4 Describe sources of internal and external finance ......................................................................6
P5 Interpret the contents of a trading and profit and loss account and balance sheet....................7
P6 Use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control...........................................................8
P7 Financial statement of Association British Food: ........................................................................9
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
Starting a business can seem like a daunting task. In fact, it is. Of the many businesses that
open each year, many fail to last as long. Though there is no guarantee for success, an
entrepreneur who has properly prepared has a leg up on the competition. In addition to a
strong business plan, there are various resources such as HR, finance, IT etc. that contribute
to the success of a new enterprise (Alsudiri, Al-Karaghouli and Eldabi, 2013). The report is
based on ABF which is leading retail organization in UK. The first part of this report related
with the recruitment and required skills of a company. Second part of this report the role of
financial resources.
P1 The recruitment documentation used by company
It is essential for a business organization is to improve their performance in order to provide
effective customer service and profitability. Therefore, it is responsibility of a company to
recruit high skilled workforce for business. In the context of ABF, they required following
documents for which helps in recruitment process.
Job advertisement: A job advertisement is a paid announcement in a newspaper or other
medium about a job vacancy. The advertisement is part of a wider recruitment process
designed to attract suitable qualified candidates for a job.
Job Application form: An application form is a template that employers require job
candidates to fill out, typically comprising previous positions held, education and contact
information. Application forms are usually completed and submitted online. Job application
forms determine whether or not you will make it to the interview stage of the recruitment
process (Ang, 2011). It is very important that you get them right. There is little point sending
poor quality application forms to employers. There is even less point sending a large number
of poor quality application forms to employers.
Job Appointment letter: The letter written by the employer requesting the selected candidates
to join in a specific position is known as appointment letter. It is also called ‘job offer letter’
or ‘job letter’. It involves following contents:
 Name and address of the organization (employer)
 Name and address of the applicant
 Name of the position

 Duties and responsibilities of the job
 Conditions of job: whether permanent or temporary, office time, performing another
job simultaneously.
 Monthly salary
 Time length of the contract
 Date of joining
 Documents to be submitted during joining
 Security requirements
 Commitment or declaration and
 Provision regarding termination
P2 Main employability, personal and communication skills required for a specific job role
There are various skilled which related with personal and professional skills required for a
specific task. Each job needs some specific capability to perform a job and other are common
skills such as communication, time management etc. As per the given case Primark required
that to identify major employability, personal and professional capability for a sales associate.
These are:
Employability skills: As the public face of the company the Sales Associate is responsible for
dealing with any and all customer questions about the products and services the company
offers (Bucolo and Matthews, 2011). A Sales Associate is expected to be continuously
updating their knowledge of the company products, services, and policies. Complaint
handling is a critical part of this position. Turning a frustrated customer into a happy
customer, while adhering to company policies, requires a combination of empathy and tact.
Sales Associate Responsibilities:
 Greeting customers, responding to questions, improving engagement with
merchandise and providing outstanding customer service.
 Operating cash registers, managing financial transactions, and balancing drawers.
 Achieving established goals.
 Directing customers to merchandise within the store.
 Increasing in store sales.

 Superior product knowledge.
 Maintaining an orderly appearance throughout the sales floor.
 Introducing promotions and opportunities to customers.
 Cross-selling products to increase purchase amounts.
Personal skills:
 The ability to adapt quickly to changes in consumer behaviour – such as the move
towards shopping across discounters and traditional supermarkets, or the growth of
online shopping and the rise of social media – is vital as it requires brands to rethink
how they present themselves to the world (Burlton, 2015).
 As marketers, we’re generally presented with a set of challenges by clients, to which
we look to apply the best possible marketing solutions. So it’s essential for any
successful modern marketer to have the ability to solve problems.
 If someone has superb communication skills, he or she probably has an aptitude for
clearly and collectedly conveying and receiving messages to and from others both
verbally and through body language, including facial expressions, eye contact, arm
movement, and posture.
P3 Main physical and technological resources required in the operation of a company
There are various resources needed to run a business in an effective manner. These are
relating with the physical and technology in ton operations. In the context of ABF these
resources can be:
Physical resources: Physical resources may encompass a wide variety of specific items and
objects depending on the nature of the business.
 Land, buildings, water and water rights
 Machinery and manufacturing equipment
 Vehicles and distribution networks
 IT equipment and hardware
 Point-of-sale systems

Some physical assets are specific to a particular industry. Livestock, feed and crop reserves
are specific to the agricultural sector, for example. Physical resources may be more or less
crucial depending on the nature of the industry. Physical resources typically require a
significant outlay of capital (Champoux and et. al., 2012). A car manufacturer must invest
considerable amounts into production facilities that can only be housed in a suitable area,
while a small software developer can set up in any number of available office locations at a
competitive rate.
Technological resources:
 The most important resource of technology is people. Without them, no product
would be formed, and no service would be delivered. People develop tools and
machines, which are used in production such as software and hardware.
 Energy is another one of the most important technological resources. Most forms of
technology rely on energy for power. Machines driven by energy are an invaluable
resource in industries that rely on continuous and mass production.
 Information is also an important technological resource. Introduction of highly
efficient technological devices has resulted in increased information sharing across
the globe. Many people can access updated and accurate information using various
devices such as cell phones and computers.
P4 Describe sources of internal and external finance
ABF is a retail firm which operates their business in United Kingdom. But Retail industry
one of the most competitive industry which having adverse impact on market share of cited
organization. Therefore, top management needs to expand their business in to other emerging
market like India and China which need large capital. These amount can be arranged from
two sources. These are:
External sources: External sources of finance are those sources of finance which come from
outside the business. External sources of financeare equity capital, preferred stock,
debentures, term loans, venture capital, leasing, hire purchase, trade credit, bank overdraft,
etc.
Equity Investment: Equity investment means that you accept money from a private investor
or group in exchange for partial ownership of the business. This funding source is commonly

used by small-business owners who want to quickly grow the business. With equity
investment, you don't take on debt and you don't have to repay the investment.
Long-Term Debt: One type of external debt financing is long-term debt. Long-term loans
typically include any debts that you expect to take more than a year to repay. Commonly,
though, your long-term loans are used to purchase buildings, equipment and other major
assets (Davis, 2012). An advantage of long-term financing is that you can repay the loan over
an extended period, which minimizes your monthly payment obligation.
Internal sources: The term ‘Internal Source of Finance / Capital’ itself suggests the very
nature of finance / capital. This is the finance or capital which is generated internally by the
business unlike finances such as loan which is externally arranged from banks or financial
institutions.
Retained Earnings: Retained earnings are an easy source of internal financing to use because
they are liquid assets (Onkila, 2011). Retained earnings are the portion of net income that you
have retained in your company and not paid out.
P5 Interpret the contents of a trading and profit and loss account and balance sheet
It is essential for a business to analyse its financial performance and maintain in an effective
manner (Helms and Whitesell, 2013). There is various content in financial resources is to
evaluate and interpret for their stakeholders. These are:
Profitability ratio: Profitability ratios compare income statement accounts and categories to
show a company's ability to generate profits from its operations.
Ratio Formula 2016
Gross Margin
Ratio
Gross margin/Net sales 23.4%
Return on
assets
Net Income/Average total Asset 7.56%
Return on
equity
Net Income/ Shareholders equity 12.22%
Gross Margin: A company with a high gross margin ratios mean that the company will have
more money to pay operating expenses like salaries, utilities, and rent.
Return on assets: The return on assets ratio measures how effectively a company can earn a
return on its investment in assets. In other words, ROA shows how efficiently a company can
convert the money used to purchase assets into net income or profits.

Return on equity: ROE is a profitability ratio from the investor's point of view—not the
company. In other words, this ratio calculates how much money is made based on the
investors' investment in the company, not the company's investment in assets or something
else.
Liquidity ratio: The return on assets ratio measures how effectively a company can earn a
return on its investment in assets. In other words, ROA shows how efficiently a company can
convert the money used to purchase assets into net income or profits.
Ratio Formula 2016
Quick ratio Total current asset-
Inventory-Prepaid Expenses/
Current liabilities
0.57
Current ratio Current Asset/Current
Liabilities
1.41
Quick ratio: Long-term assets to generate revenues, selling off these capital assets will not
only hurt the company it will also show investors that current operations aren't making
enough profits to pay off current liabilities.
Current ratio: A higher current ratio is always more favourable than a lower current ratio
because it shows the company can more easily make current debt payments.
P6 Use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control
Managers need to be able to exercise control over the organisations that they manage - i.e. to
make sure that the organisation is keeping to plan and that necessary actions can be taken to
put it back on track when needed. In the same way that a thermostat will regulate and control
the temperature of your central heating, system managers need to have control tools to make
sure that financial plans and targets are being achieved.
Planning: As a manager looks forward over a period of business and prepares, he may
consider how much material or staff is needed. When a budget shows expected sales over the
same period, the manager can take budgeted costs of sales and work backwards to determine
raw materials needs or labour hours required (Majchrzak and et.al., 2014).
Forecasting: One year's budget often serves as a basis for the following year, and when
managers are involved in the budgeting process, each of the previous steps can be applied
looking forward. Managers may be in a unique position to observe the effects of improved
staff training, for example, as a contributor to improved performance.

Continuous improvement: An effective manager is not just looking to meet budget, but also
looks for ways to improve. With weekly or monthly performance numbers compared to
budget, a manager is a first-level systems analyst for operations.
P7 Financial statement of Association British Food:
There are following financial statement of ABF:
Consolidated Income statement for the year 2012-13
Consolidated Balance Sheet for the year 2012-13

Conclusion
As per the current above mentioned report it has been concluded that the role of recruitments
and financial management within the organization. This report discussed about the various
resources such as financial, HR and technical in order to attain long term objectives.
Recruitment documentation, sources of finance, and various types of statement which is
related with the business performance of the company.

REFERENCES
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