Departments

Four key functions

Human resources, marketing, finance and accounts, operations management.

Human Resources

Responsible for managing the people within an organization

Marketing

Focuses on understanding customer needs and promoting the business's products or services.

Human Resources responsibilities

Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Performance Management, Compensation and Benefits, and Employee Relations.

Marketing key activities

Market research, product development, promotion, pricing strategy, and distribution

Finance accounts

Manages the financial health of the business

What does finance accounts include

Budgeting, financial reporting, cash flow management, investment analysis, and cost control.

Operations management

Responsible for producing goods or delivering services efficiently.

Operations management key responsibilities include

Process design, quality control, supply chain management, capacity planning, and continuous improvement.

How do business departments work together?

Business departments cooperate and share information to achieve common organizational objectives efficiently.

HR and operations working together

HR recruits, trains, and motivates workers needed by operations to produce goods or services efficiently.

Marketing and operations working together

Marketing communicates customer needs and demand forecasts so operations can plan production levels.

Marketing and finance working together

Finance sets budgets and pricing limits while marketing plans promotion and pricing strategies within those budgets.

Operations and finance working together

Finance provides funds for equipment and resources while operations controls costs and uses resources efficiently.

HR and finance working together

Finance determines wage budgets while HR sets pay levels, incentives, and staffing plans within financial limits.

Why coordination between all departments is important

Poor coordination can cause inefficiency, higher costs, and failure to meet customer needs.

Departments working together — example

Marketing predicts higher demand; operations increases production; HR hires more staff; finance approves extra budget.