2.1 Functional areas of a business

Question 1

What is a functional area?

Answer 1

Where a group of employees who have similar skills,carry out a specific role within an organisation

Question 2

What are the key functional areas of a business?

Answer 2

Finance (Accounting)
Marketing (Advertising, Promotions)
Sales (Commercial)
Human resources
Operation Management (Production)
Customer Services (After sales services)
Business Support Services (Administration)
Research and Development
Procurement (Purchasing)

Question 3

What does Finance carry out?

Answer 3

Financial forecasts
Financial statements (Reciepts and payments into the business)

Question 4

What does Marketing carry out?

Answer 4

Market research
Set pricing strategies
Promoting the business or goods/services
Do this by advertising, sales promotions, sponsorships, social media

Question 5

What does Sales carry out?

Answer 5

Responsible for selling a business’s goods and services
Can be face to face, telephone or online

Question 6

What does HR carry out?

Answer 6

Recruitment
Redundancies
Remuneration and rewards systems
Company policies

Question 6

What does Operation Management carry out?

Answer 6

Inputs
Transformation
Outputs (Finished goods)

Question 6

What does Customer Service carry out?

Answer 6

Liaising with customers
Managing expectation
Resolving queries

Question 7

What does Business Support Services carry out?

Answer 7

Managing resources
Maintaining equipment
Providing IT support
Providing administrative support

Question 8

What does Research and development do?

Answer 8

Develop new products in response to:
Customer needs
Technology advancements
New ideas

Question 9

What does procurement carry out?

Answer 9

Responsible for buying all the physical resources used in the business
Identifying suppliers, negotiating prices and payment terms