1. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Functional areas Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work We are going to look at the seven different functional areas. Administration Human resources Finance ICT Production Marketing and sales Customer service

2. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Administration Administration is a support function required by all businesses and involves written, verbal and electronic communication. The main tasks of administration staff are to: arrange travel and meetings. send emails and letters. research information for and create reports, memos and messages. help visitors. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work

3. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Human resources (1) write all the paperwork to recruit new staff – job description, person specification and advert. keep staff records of absence, illness or training. Human resources (HR) deals with everything to do with people at work, from advertising and recruiting new staff to looking after them when they are sick and organising training. HR staff: Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work

4. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. advertise chances for staff to progress and arrange training to help this happen. monitor all legal aspects of human resources – giving out contracts of employment and making sure people are safe at work, as well as making sure managers are looking after employees properly, e.g. treating them equally. Human resources (2) Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work

5. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Finance (1) The finance team deals with all the financial processes of the business. The main tasks are to: plan the budgets for the future and monitor them. produce cash-flow forecasts. pay any bills that the business receives (invoices).

6. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Finance (2) prepare statements and returns to go to the Inland Revenue for tax purposes. ask people/businesses who owe the business money to pay.

7. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work ICT (1) The ICT area will often maintain the business’ website and look after all aspects of hardware (physical equipment) and software (packages like Excel). The main tasks are to: update existing software and install new software. fix any problems with IT facilities, either through equipment being broken or employees being unsure how to use it.

8. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work ICT (2) keep a back-up of data so that if a disaster occurs the business can keep running. protect the business from things like viruses and hackers. set up new user accounts and reset passwords if people forget them.

9. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Production (1) Production is responsible for making anything the business produces and overseeing the process. Production can also be applied to services but here the area is involved with how the service is offered and the quality. The main tasks are to: produce a product or offer a service at the best possible price. carry out regular checks on quality.

10. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Production (2) order materials and equipment that are used to make the product or offer the service. make sure customers receive their products or services on time by working with the distribution function, if appropriate.

11. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Marketing and sales (1) The marketing function helps the business find out what its customers need in order to be satisfied and keep buying from the business. Staff carry out surveys to find out how customers feel about the business and its products/services and also come up with ideas that will persuade people to buy. The main tasks are to: find out about customers by doing market research either in person, by post or online.

12. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Marketing and sales (2) produce advertising campaigns on television, radio, online or in print. check that customers are being sent the right information about products or services to increase sales. think of ways to get customers to buy more products or services. check the pricing of products/services to see if changes can be made to encourage people to buy.

13. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Marketing and sales (3) The sales function deals with customers and tries to help the business sell more products or services. Sometimes sales representatives visit customers and give them information about the business and its products/services. The main tasks are to: organise sales advertising and other activities to increase sales. give quotes or demonstrate products or services to potential customers.

14. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work provide advice on the best purchases to make at fairs, conferences or other events to try to persuade people to buy. contact possible new customers to see if they are interested in buying something. Marketing and sales (4)

15. © Pearson Education 2009. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work Customer service The customer service team is the frontline for the business. Poor customer service could mean a bad reputation and fewer customers. The main tasks are to: talk to customers by telephone, email, letter or face to face. deal with customer complaints. ask customers for their opinions/ideas on how to improve the products/services. give after-sales advice on repairs etc.