Functional Areas Within Businesses Essay Example

operations. If the department sets a low budget for car parts, the resulting quality of vehicles could be lower. However, as Honda is a highly successful company that generates billions of pounds in profit annually, the finance department supplies other departments with ample funding for high-quality cars and exceptional services. In essence, the finance department manages the monetary inflow and outflow for the business and makes major financial decisions that affect all departments.
On the other hand, customer service is another significant department in any organization. Customers are essential as they are the ones who purchase products and keep businesses operational. Customer service links customers to the organization by gathering feedback that can help improve products and services to meet customer needs. The finance department allocates a budget to customer service to undertake customer-focused activities.

Production/Operations encompass activities essential for creating satisfactory products and services that meet customer requirements. Production must ensure good quality products, while Operations must guarantee timely delivery. Research and Development also play a vital role in production, but can be expensive since it consumes money while the company may not earn any revenue from the idea. For instance, Nike and Adidas invest millions of pounds to research as they compete in a highly lucrative sports market where people are willing to pay significant amounts to purchase branded sportswear.

Adequate financial support from the finance department is crucial for an organization's research and development to ensure high standards in product production. Collaborating with operations, research and development plays a vital role in determining whether a new product can be cost-effectively produced while maintaining quality. Prior to launching any innovation or product, market research

must take place to identify customer needs and demands. However, organizations should carefully weigh the costs and benefits of engaging in research and development as it may not yield immediate revenue. In competitive markets like gaming consoles, companies such as Xbox and PlayStation invest millions in market research, testing, and development before introducing their products to consumers.

Adequate and comprehensive market research and development require significant funding and strong financial backing. Effective communication of ideas between researchers and operations is necessary to determine feasibility in terms of manufacturing cost and customer needs. Quality assurance plays a crucial role in achieving marketing objectives by meeting customer expectations regarding the quality levels of products or services.

Low-quality products or services can result in negative opinions of an organization, causing a reputation decline and potential loss of competitive advantage or even bankruptcy. Quality assurance should work with customer service to address complaints and inquiries. The Human Resource department recruits and trains personnel.

The effectiveness of the recruitment and training procedure will decide on the placement of competent staff members who can handle customer-oriented circumstances in their respective careers. Specifically, customer service personnel ought to comprehend customer requirements and have the ability to handle inquiries daily. To achieve this goal, trainers are supplied by the customer services department to develop this vital skill. Additionally, human resource management is accountable for maintaining staff members' attention on the business's tasks, which involves ensuring that everyone is content with their position within the company.

Information and communication technology (ICT) is crucial for managing consumer needs. Large organizations like BMW use ICT to manufacture their products, while others rely on it for deliveries.

At Argos, customer

information - including house address and name - is collected and transmitted to the warehouse for storage and eventual home delivery. However, relying exclusively on this technology as a primary system can have negative consequences if there is a system shutdown that prevents timely delivery, potentially leading customers to seek other options. To facilitate internal communication, organizations also use various forms of information and communication technology to connect functional areas, creating multiple points of linkage.

They may all have access to the same systems and view the order book to understand operational needs in the near future. Human resources can utilize this information by employing more qualified people whose applications are stored in the system and reviewing their interview performances to ensure the best fit for the job. Operations may use CAD/CAM to design products that effectively meet customers' demands. Quality assurance can analyze producers that aid in producing larger batch runs with greater efficiency and quality for operations.