Functional Areas of Business
Angela B. Ball
MGT/521
February 25, 2014
Dr. Nancy Atkins
Functional Areas of Business
A business consists of four areas of functionality – marketing, production, finance, and personnel. Marketing is the method used to move a product or service from its idea to customer consumption. Production is the process of creating a good or service. Finance is the manner in which a company handles and uses money. Personnel are the people employed by a business or organization. Each of these areas of functionality requires a manager who is responsible for planning and overseeing the responsibilities set forth within the organization.
Marketing Management
The size of a business and industry in which the business operates, determines the autonomy of marketing management within that business. According to (BusinessDictionary.com, 2014); to effectively market a good or service, management uses a company’s resources to increase customer base, improve customer opinions of products and service, and increase the perceived value of the company. A marketing manager must first develop a plan to heighten the results obtained from the time and money invested in marketing. A marketing plan creates specific objectives and identifies a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It lists tactical steps to achieve marketing objectives, includes resources to accomplish objectives, and keeps all members of the sales and marketing team working together. The plan should be reviewed several times during the year and adjusted, depending on changes in the marketplace.
Production Management
Production management includes the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of activities of the production function. “Production function is the conversion of raw materials into finished products” (Cite.com, 2009) and is categorized under two objectives: (1) ultimate and (2) intermediate. Ultimate objectives include the main responsibilities of manufacturing, which are; cost, product quality, and time schedule. Machinery and equipment, material, manpower and supporting services are included in intermediate objectives. As an essential part of the production process, production managers must determine manufacturing costs. The unit cost of the product should be sensibly estimated, and every effort should be made to stick to the cost criteria (Cite.com, 2009). Product managers identify where losses in quality occur and find ways to control the process and improve the product. Occasional changes to work instructions, to monitor quality indicators, may be necessary to increased production rates and improved product quality. Time scheduling is the planned timeframe given to produce a certain number of goods. Production scheduling consists of three primary goals or objectives. First, set due dates to avoid late completion of jobs. Secondly, create throughput times to minimize the amount of time a job spends in the system. The third goal includes the deployment of work centers (Reference for Business: Encyclopedia for Business, 2nd edition, 2014). Within these three goals, production management employs both ultimate and intermediate objectives to result in a finished product.
Finance Management
Financial management applies planning, organizing, monitoring, controlling, and directing the monetary resources of a business or organization. Financial objectives concentrate on the amount of profits and increase in profits a company incurs over a period of time. In an attempt to increase earning capacity; a financial manager estimates expected costs, profits, and other financial concerns of a company. This estimate involves short-term and long-term debt equity analysis. Finance managers also make decisions on how to manage cash transactions and obligations within the company. According to (Management Study Guide, 2013), the finance manager not only plans, procures, and utilizes the funds; but also has to exercise control