Mgt 521
Functional Areas of Business: The Role of a Manager
MGT/521
August 3, 2013
Dr. Dulcelina Stahl
An organization as a whole is to be divided into specific functions to allow managers to focus consistently on certain aspects of the business to keep it running effectively while functioning efficiently. Organizations are typically broken into four main functional areas: finance and accounts, human resources, customer services, marketing, and sales. These functional areas are instrumental to the organization operating at its’ full capacity. “Organizations need managers for their managerial skills and abilities more than ever in these uncertain, complex and chaotic times” (Robbins & Coulter, (2012). They are essential if the organization is to achieve its goal and objectives set forth by strategic planning and effective follow-through. The purpose of the financial and accounting department is to oversee that inputs and outputs of the organization stay in line with the objectives and goals, but still keeping costs low enough to improve profitability as a result of operating. A managers’ role in this department would be to balance the company’s ‘checkbook’ while ensuring that the organization is as profitable as possible, whether it deals with products or the selling of services. Also to ensure that the organization is keeping with ethical principles and governing itself within financial policies and procedures mandated by law. The human resources function is rather a board one, which covers everything from benefit packages, employee hiring, employment turnover rate, to employee training and advancement.
This role involves making the business case for “soft” issues, namely people issues that do not, on the surface, have much to do with the business. With the proper training many managers can be effective managers of people performing the essential functions of staffing, development, performance appraisal and
MGT/521
August 3, 2013
Dr. Dulcelina Stahl
An organization as a whole is to be divided into specific functions to allow managers to focus consistently on certain aspects of the business to keep it running effectively while functioning efficiently. Organizations are typically broken into four main functional areas: finance and accounts, human resources, customer services, marketing, and sales. These functional areas are instrumental to the organization operating at its’ full capacity. “Organizations need managers for their managerial skills and abilities more than ever in these uncertain, complex and chaotic times” (Robbins & Coulter, (2012). They are essential if the organization is to achieve its goal and objectives set forth by strategic planning and effective follow-through. The purpose of the financial and accounting department is to oversee that inputs and outputs of the organization stay in line with the objectives and goals, but still keeping costs low enough to improve profitability as a result of operating. A managers’ role in this department would be to balance the company’s ‘checkbook’ while ensuring that the organization is as profitable as possible, whether it deals with products or the selling of services. Also to ensure that the organization is keeping with ethical principles and governing itself within financial policies and procedures mandated by law. The human resources function is rather a board one, which covers everything from benefit packages, employee hiring, employment turnover rate, to employee training and advancement.
This role involves making the business case for “soft” issues, namely people issues that do not, on the surface, have much to do with the business. With the proper training many managers can be effective managers of people performing the essential functions of staffing, development, performance appraisal and