2.  understand that administration involves the storing, processing, retrieving and disseminating of information to support the business functions (i.e. human resources, finance, operations, marketing and sales, customer service and research and development)  be aware of the importance of administration in ensuring the efficient running of a business, enabling it to respond to actual and potential competition  be aware of the range of job roles (ie managers, supervisors and operatives) and be able to identify appropriate titles and responsibilities within different management structures (e.g. flat or hierarchical)  understand the difference between routine tasks (such as filing, inputting data) and non-routine tasks (such as dealing with new product development)  understand the difference between routine and non-routine decision- making and identify the appropriate decision-makers  understand the importance of planning, e.g. for a meeting, and the consequences of poor planning for a business  understand the processes involved in planning and prioritising

3.  Human resources  Finance  Sales  Marketing  Customer Services  Production  Research and Development

4.  Human resources ◦ management of people  Finance ◦ Accurate records of cash flow; predicting profit and loss  Sales ◦ Selling products or services  Marketing ◦ Advertising products/services; knowing what the customer wants  Customer Services ◦ Keeping the customer happy  Production ◦ (if the company makes a product) Making the company’s product(s)  Research and Development ◦ Researching and developing new products

5.  Administration is essential for the smooth running of a business to ensure that they can compete with others in the same field  Administration involves the storing, processing, retrieving and disseminating (passing on) of information that supports the business functions  Administrators perform this function so that managers do not have to and can concentrate on decision making  Typical tasks include preparing sales figures, filing documents, updating databases, sending out mail shots, setting up meetings

6.  Within a large organisation there are a number of job roles, such as directors, managers, supervisors and operatives (workers) Directors Managers Supervisors Operatives (workers)

7.  Directors ◦ Responsible for the business’s strategy  Managers ◦ responsible for carrying out the director’s strategy and making day to day decisions  Supervisors ◦ Responsible for carrying out the manager’s instructions and usually look after specific projects or small teams  Operatives ◦ Are not responsible for other staff and are often given specific tasks to perform by managers or supervisors

8.  Answer the first question on the question sheet

9.  A routine task is one that is performed regularly in the same way. Each area of a business will have its own routine tasks and those will vary depending on the type of the business.  Examples include filing a tax return every year; ordering stock every week; filing documents every day; entering details of invoices into a spreadsheet every day; re-stocking shelves every day  Routine tasks are often carried out by operatives.

10.  Non-routine tasks are unpredictable and usually “one off” tasks, such as re-fitting a shop; responding to a customer complaint; developing a new product; upgrading equipment  Non-routine tasks often involve high level decisions and so involve managers

11.  Businesses are structured to enable decisions to be made easily. There are far fewer people at the top of the management structure than at the bottom. Decisions are usually made by people at the top of the hierarchy, but decision making powers can be delegated to people lower down in the organisation

12.  In the same way as there are routine and non-routine tasks there are routine and non- routine decisions.  Routine decisions involve day to day judgements about the day to day running of the business. For example, a monthly decision about what stationary to order.  A non-routine decision is a more important decision that may have a major effect on the business, for example the decision to open a new shop.

13.  Delegation of decision making authority can help to motivate staff and make them feel valued.  Disadvantages are that staff may not know who to go to for a particular decision and if the wrong decision is made and reversed by a manager then the member of staff making the decision will feel bad.  If decisions are frequently delegated then the business is said to have a decentralised structure.

14.  Poor planning and poor decision making can lead to loss of time and resources and ultimately to business failure.  Planning needs to take place regarding all areas of the business so that it can function.  Planning needs to take place regarding resources so that there are no shortages and regarding staff so that there are enough.

15. 1. Identify your objectives 2. Break the project into separate tasks 3. Estimate the time needed for each task and whether they have to done one after the other or can be done simultaneously. Set milestones for each task (i.e. dates when they have to be completed) 4. Identify the resources needed (e.g. staff, equipment, materials, money) 5. Think about how outside influences will affect the plan (e.g. suppliers)

16.  Answer the second question on the question sheet

17.  Answer the questions on pages 10, 11 and 12