What Are The 8 Business Functions? A Simple Explanation | Introduction to Business Studies

B.Studies Applied - N. Tshabalala

11 Sept 202306:50

Summary

TLDRThis video script outlines the eight essential business functions necessary for a company's success: General Management, Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, Financing, Public Relations, Purchasing, and Production. It explains the role of each function, from the CEO's strategic decisions in General Management to the day-to-day operations in Administration. Human Resources focuses on employee management, while Marketing identifies and meets customer needs. Financing handles the company's money, Public Relations maintains the company's image, Purchasing ensures timely supply of materials, and Production transforms inputs into outputs. The script serves as an informative guide for understanding the structure and operations of a business.

Takeaways

📈 **General Management**: Oversees all business operations, making key decisions to ensure efficient and profitable business functioning.
💼 **Administration**: Performs support tasks like communication, data processing, and information management to keep the business running smoothly.
👨‍💼 **Human Resources (HR)**: Manages employee recruitment, retention, payroll, training, and conflict resolution to maintain a suitable workforce.
🎯 **Marketing**: Identifies customer needs through market research and meets those needs through product development and promotion strategies.
💰 **Financing**: Handles the financial aspects of the business, including income, expenses, profits, and ensuring adequate funding for all departments.
📢 **Public Relations (PR)**: Maintains the company's reputation by managing internal and external communications and responding to crises and customer feedback.
🛒 **Purchasing**: Secures materials and supplies needed for production or service provision, negotiating contracts and maintaining supplier relationships.
🏭 **Production**: Transforms inputs into outputs, responsible for creating the products or services that the company offers to customers.
🔍 **Market Research**: A crucial part of marketing, it involves using questionnaires and surveys to understand customer needs and desires.
📊 **Financial Health**: The finance function monitors income, expenses, and profits to ensure the business remains financially stable and profitable.

Q & A

What are the eight business functions that are essential for a business to operate successfully?
-The eight business functions are General Management, Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, Financing, Public Relations, Purchasing, and Production.
What is the primary role of General Management in a business?
-General Management is responsible for supervising all business operations and making important decisions to ensure that all business functions work harmoniously together for efficient and profitable operations.
Can you provide an example of a task that falls under the Administration function?
-Administrative tasks include communication, data gathering and processing, storing and sharing information, document typing, scheduling meetings, recording minutes, handling business inquiries, and managing IT.
What does the Human Resources department handle in a company?
-The Human Resources department is responsible for finding suitable employees, managing payroll, skills training, conflict resolution, and ensuring employee retention.
How does the Marketing function contribute to a business?
-Marketing involves conducting market research to identify customer needs, deciding on products that meet those needs, and promoting the product to create public awareness and desire to purchase.
What financial responsibilities does the Financing function have in a business?
-The Financing function is responsible for handling the business's money, including acquiring funds, managing expenses, tracking income and profits, and ensuring the financial health of the business.
What is the main objective of Public Relations in a business?
-Public Relations aims to create and maintain a positive image of the business both internally with employees and externally with the public and other stakeholders.
What tasks are associated with the Purchasing function in a business?
-The Purchasing function is responsible for sourcing suppliers, negotiating contracts, ensuring timely delivery of materials and supplies, and maintaining relationships with suppliers.
How does the Production function differ between a manufacturing and a retail business?
-In a manufacturing business, Production involves creating the actual products, while in a retail business, it may involve displaying products attractively, assisting customers, and processing transactions.
Why is it important for a business to have all eight functions operating effectively?
-All eight functions are crucial as they ensure the business runs smoothly, meets customer needs, manages resources efficiently, maintains a good reputation, and produces quality products or services.
How might the responsibilities of each business function vary between large and small businesses?
-In large businesses, each function may have dedicated departments, while in small businesses, the owner might handle multiple functions, including hiring, financial management, and marketing.

Outlines

00:00

📈 Overview of Business Functions

This paragraph introduces the eight essential business functions that are crucial for the successful operation of any business. These functions include General Management, Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, Financing, Public Relations, Purchasing, and Production. Each function plays a distinct role in the organization, from strategic decision-making by General Management to the daily operations handled by Administration. Human Resources focuses on employee management, while Marketing identifies and meets customer needs. Financing oversees the financial health of the business, Public Relations maintains the company's image, Purchasing ensures the availability of necessary materials, and Production transforms inputs into outputs. The paragraph also highlights the responsibilities of each function with practical examples, such as a CEO's role in General Management or the HR department's tasks in a software company.

05:02

🛒 The Role of Purchasing and Production in Business

The second paragraph delves into the specific roles of the Purchasing and Production functions within a business. Purchasing is responsible for acquiring the necessary materials and supplies for the business operations, ensuring cost-effective deals and timely deliveries. It involves activities like sourcing suppliers, negotiating contracts, and maintaining supplier relationships. The Production function, on the other hand, is tasked with creating the company's products or services, converting inputs into outputs. It includes designing, packaging, and displaying products in a way that is appealing to customers and facilitating transactions. The paragraph concludes with a call to stay curious and engaged in learning more about business operations.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Business Functions

Business functions refer to the primary activities that businesses engage in to operate successfully. In the context of the video, these functions are crucial for the smooth running of a company, whether it's a large corporation with specialized departments or a small business managed by an owner. The video outlines eight specific functions, each playing a role in the overall success and efficiency of a business.

💡General Management

General management is defined as the oversight of all business operations, ensuring that various business functions work together harmoniously. In the video, the CEO of a restaurant chain is given as an example of someone in general management, making strategic decisions like opening new locations and creating new menu items to ensure profitability.

💡Administration

Administration encompasses a range of support tasks that keep a business running smoothly. This includes communication, data processing, and information management. The video mentions IT as part of administration, highlighting its role in handling data, which is essential for modern businesses to function effectively.

💡Human Resources (HR)

Human Resources, or HR, is responsible for recruiting and retaining the right employees for a business. It involves managing payroll, skills training, and conflict resolution. The video uses the example of a software company's HR department to illustrate how HR ensures timely salary payments and helps in resolving workplace disputes.

💡Marketing

Marketing is about identifying customer needs through market research and meeting those needs with suitable products at attainable prices. It also includes promotion to create public awareness and desire for the product. The video explains that marketing is not just advertising but involves a broader set of activities, such as using surveys to understand customer needs.

💡Financing

The financial function is responsible for managing a business's money, including acquiring funds and overseeing their use. This involves tracking income, expenses, and profits to ensure the business's financial health. The video gives an example of a clothing retailer's finance team monitoring sales, expenses, and profits to determine the company's profitability.

💡Public Relations (PR)

Public Relations, or PR, is about managing a company's reputation and maintaining a positive image both internally and externally. This includes managing social media, responding to crises, and dealing with customer feedback. The video provides a scenario where a restaurant's PR team must respond to a customer complaint about food safety, illustrating the reactive nature of PR.

💡Purchasing

Purchasing involves acquiring the materials and supplies needed for a business to produce its products or services. This includes finding suppliers, negotiating contracts, and ensuring timely delivery of materials. The video describes the purchasing function as critical for cost-effective operations, using the example of sourcing raw materials for a toy factory.

💡Production

Production is the function responsible for creating the products or services a company sells. It involves turning inputs into outputs, which could be designing and packaging toys in a factory or arranging shelves and completing transactions in a store. The video emphasizes the transformation process that occurs in production, which is central to a company's ability to deliver value to customers.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency in the context of the video refers to the optimal use of resources to achieve maximum productivity. It is a key goal for businesses across all functions, from general management making strategic decisions to HR ensuring the right staff is in place. The video implies that efficiency is essential for a business to be profitable and competitive.

💡Customer Needs

Understanding and meeting customer needs is a central theme in the video, particularly in the context of marketing. Businesses must identify what customers want and design products and services to satisfy those needs. The video mentions using market research tools like questionnaires and surveys to gather insights about customer desires, which is vital for creating products that resonate with the target market.

Highlights

Business functions are the main activities that businesses need to perform to operate successfully.

In a large company, each function may have its own departments such as HR, Finance, or Marketing.

Small business owners may handle all duties including hiring, finances, market research, and advertising.

There are eight business functions: General management, Administration, Human Resources, Marketing, Financing, Public Relations, Purchasing, and Production.

General management is responsible for supervising all business operations and making important decisions.

Administration carries out support tasks such as communication, data processing, and information management.

Human Resources (HR) is responsible for finding suitable employees and managing payroll, training, and conflict resolution.

Marketing involves conducting market research, identifying customer needs, and creating awareness through promotion.

Financing handles the business's money, including acquiring funds, managing expenses, and ensuring financial health.

Public Relations (PR) manages the company's reputation and maintains a positive image with stakeholders.

Purchasing is responsible for sourcing materials, negotiating contracts, and maintaining supplier relationships.

Production turns inputs into outputs, creating products or services that a company sells.

General management ensures that all business functions work harmoniously together for efficiency and profitability.

The CEO of a restaurant chain is part of General management, making decisions on expansion and profitability.

I.T is part of Administration, dealing with data and supporting the business's technological needs.

HR in a software company is responsible for posting job adverts and resolving co-worker disagreements.

Marketing uses questionnaires and surveys to identify customer needs and sets suitable prices for the target market.

A finance team in a clothing retailer monitors sales, expenses, and profits to determine the company's financial health.

PR responds to customer complaints and crises, maintaining the company's image and addressing food safety concerns.

The production function in a toy factory designs, manufactures, and packages toys, while in a toy store it includes customer service and transactions.