Departments

Alexandra Hristova, 12b

What is department?

A department is one of the sections in an organization such as a government, business, or university. Generally every department has its own manager and chain of command.

Types of department

A typical business organization may consist of the following main departments:

• Production;
• Research and Development (often abbreviated to R&D);
• Purchasing;
• Marketing (including the selling function);
• Human Resource Management;
• IT Department;
• Accounting and Finance.

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Production department

The Production function undertakes the activities necessary to provide the organisation’s products or services. Its main responsibilities are:

• production planning and scheduling;
• control and supervision of the production workforce;
• managing product quality (including process control and monitoring);
• maintenance of plant and equipment;
• control of inventory;
• deciding the best production methods and factory layout.

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The Research and Development

The Research and Development (R&D) function is concerned with developing new products or processes and improving existing products/processes. R&D activities must be closely coordinated with the organization’s marketing activities to ensure that the organization is providing exactly what its customers want in the most efficient, effective and economical way.

The Purchasing department

The Purchasing function is concerned with acquiring goods and services for use by the organization. These will include, for example, raw materials and components for manufacturing and also production equipment. The responsibilities of this function usually extend to buying goods and services for the entire organization, including, for example, office equipment, furniture, computer equipment and stationery.

The Purchasing department

In buying goods and services, purchasing managers must take into account a number of factors – collectively referred to as ‘the Purchasing Mix’, namely, Quantity, Quality, Price and Delivery.

In short, the ‘purchasing mix’ can be considered as making sure that the organization has the right amount, of the right quality, at the right price, in the right place at the right time.

Marketing department

Marketing is concerned with identifying and satisfying customers needs at the right price. Marketing involves researching what customers want and analysing how the organisation can satisfy these wants.

Marketing Mix

 A fundamental activity in marketing is managing the Marketing Mix consisting of the “4Ps” and “7Ps”:

• Product: Having the right product in terms of benefits that customers value.
• Price: Setting the right price which is consistent with potential customers’ perception of the value offered by the product.
• Promotion: Promoting the product in a way which creates maximum customer awareness and persuades potential customers to make the decision to purchase the product.
• Place: Making the product available in the right place at the right time – including choosing appropriate distribution channels.
• People; Physical Evidence; Process Management.

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The Human Resources department

The Human Resources function is concerned with the following:

• Recruitment and selection. Ensuring that the right people are recruited to the right jobs.
• Training and development. Enabling employees to carry out their responsibilities effectively and make use of their potential.
• Employee relations. Including negotiations over pay and conditions.

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• Grievance procedures and disciplinary matters. Dealing with complaints from employees or from the employer.
• Health and Safety matters. Making sure employees work in a healthy and safe environment.
• Redundancy procedures. Administering a proper system that is seen to be fair to all concerned when deciding on redundancies and agreeing redundancy payments.

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The work of the Human Resources Department

Information Technology Department

The IT department plays an important role in a company. The department is charged with establishing, monitoring and maintaining information technology systems and services. It's important to note that although the IT department implements and facilitates the flow of information, it doesn't create the policy that defines which information is correct or accessible to others.

The Accounting and Finance Department�

The Accounting and Finance function is concerned with the following:

• Financial record keeping. of transactions involving monetary inflows or outflows.
• Preparing financial statements. (the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement) for reporting to external parties such as shareholders. The financial statements are also the starting point for calculating any tax due on business profits.
• Payroll administration. Paying wages and salaries and maintaining appropriate income tax and national insurance records.
• Preparing management accounting information and analysis to help managers to plan, control and make decisions.

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1. The Marketing department includes selling function.

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• Marketing Mix consists only of ‘’4Ps’’.

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• The most important department is IT department.