Analysis of Business Functions in Mark and Spencer

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BUSINESS REPORT
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main body..................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5
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I n t r o d u c t i o n
In this competitive era, business organisation' performs several functions, i.e. marketing,
human resources, finance and operations management which contributes to ensuring long-
term market evolution. Business functions establish design standards and guidelines for the
company that intends how it will perform in the target market (Norman, 2019).
For this discussion, the chosen organisation is Mark and Spencer which is a global market
retailer of clothing, food and home products. The organisation was founded in 1884 and at
present it is having 1000 stores approximately.
M a i n b o d y
Marketing – This function entails with ascertaining and meeting social and human needs.
Marketing assists a corporate association to create a strong market image and attract
customers for the long term. According to Spacey, (2018) marketing function coordinated
with public relations, advertising and promotion which delivers a brand’s message to its
target audiences. It helps the organisation to abreast of changes or market trends.
By considering Mark and Spencer, the role of marketing function is to satisfy customers’
needs or demands; it is for the people who are willing to pay higher rates for getting quality
products or services. Along with this, marketing also enables to maintain constant interaction
with the target and potential audiences to understand their needs.
Finance – The function deals with money-related activities within an organisation. Financial
management function encompasses with acquiring and utilization of funds which are needed
in effective completion of operations to organizations. According to Bradley, (2018) financial
management is a brand of dealing with finance or funds by using effective tools or
techniques. It includes planning and managing funds or capital in such a manner which
reduces production costs and increase profitability.
Mark and Spencer, financial management assists managers to take imperative financial
decisions thus to obtain higher returns on them. Once funds are raised firms tend to invest
them in such areas which deliver them maximum profitability in future. Financial
management also helps in managing current assists of the company thus to stop insolvent or
failure of payments.
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Human resource management – This function is all about allowing employees to utilize
their skills or competencies so as to contribute to achieving organizational goals and
objectives. Having well-qualified and skilled workforce help organisations to obtain a high
competitive edge by producing new or innovative products. With the viewpoint of Hosono,
et. al., (2012) human resource management encourage employees to perform in well-being
manner and in turns it also focuses on improving workers' performance and knowledge level.
In Mark and Spencer, Human resource managers carried out several activities, such as –
performance reviews, recruitment, training and development; all these are responsible for
raising staff knowledge and skill level (Seal and Herbert, 2013). In turns, HRM contributes to
change management so that people can easily respond towards market competitiveness.
Operations management – This function is liable to manage the practices involved in the
creation of goods or services; it encompasses ensuring the resources required in the
manufacturing process. According to Hsieh, (2016) operation management is a process of
managing business activities with an aim to obtain a higher level of efficiency or
effectiveness. Basically, it is linked with turning raw material into finished goods.
In Mark and Spencer, the company has several operations thus operation management helps
in managing and monitoring such activities in an effective manner. OM contributes to
supervising processes and makes required modifications so as to obtain maximum
profitability. Such adjustments in everyday processes support Mark and Spencer to achieve
strategic goals.
C o n c l u s i o n
From the above-mentioned report, it gets analysis business functions to assist to strengthen
organizational performance and obtaining a high competitive edge. For instance – marketing
functions entail to make regular communication with target audiences and recognize their
needs or wants in the best possible manner.
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R e f e r e n c e s
 Hosono, S., Hara, T., Shimomura, Y. and Ara, T., 2012, October. Prioritizing service
functions with non-functional requirements. In Proceedings of the 2nd CIRP IPS2
Conference 2010; 14-15 April; Linköping; Sweden (No. 077, pp. 133-140).
Linköping University Electronic Press.
 Hsieh, C., 2016. Do the Self–Employed More Likely Emerge from Sequential or
Parallel Work Experience in Business–Related Functions?. Entrepreneurship Theory
and Practice, 40(2), pp.307-334.
 Jeremy Bradley, 2018. Five Components of a Human Resource Management System.
Retrieved through: <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/important-aspects-human-
resource-planning-shrm-62194.html>. [Accessed 6 March 2019].
 John Spacey, 2018. 14 Examples of Business Functions. Retrieved through:
https://simplicable.com/new/business-functions. [Accessed 6 March 2019].
 Leyla Norman, 2019. What Are the Four Basic Functions That Make Up the
Management Process?. Available through: <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-
basic-functions-make-up-management-process-23852.html. [Accessed 6 March
2019].
 Seal, W. and Herbert, I., 2013. Shared service centres and the role of the finance
function: Advancing the Iron Cage?. Journal of Accounting & Organizational
Change, 9(2), pp.188-205.
 Seprian hidayat amin, 2016. Nature and importance of the finance function. Retrieved
through: https://seprianhidayatamin.wordpress.com/2016/04/22/1-nature-and-
importance-of-the-finance-function/>. [Accessed 6 March 2019].
 Sparrow, P., Farndale, E. and Scullion, H., 2013. An empirical study of the role of the
corporate HR function in global talent management in professional and financial
service firms in the global financial crisis. The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 24(9), pp.1777-1798.
 Srivastava, R.P. and Mock, T.J. eds., 2013. Belief functions in business
decisions (Vol. 88). Physica.
 UK Essays. November 2018. Role And Importance Of Operations Management.
Available through: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/role-and-importance-
of-operations-management-organisation-marketing-essay.php?vref=1>. [Accessed 6
March 2019].
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