Functional AreasThere are different departments/functional areas in any business, these can include:Human Resources – Human resources are the department responsible for recruitment for the business which includes the job description, job advertisement, interviews, applicants and CVs and person specification. Human resources are also responsible for retention, promotion, Trade Union Negotiations, Disciplinary Action and Training and DevelopmentTesco refer to their human resources team as the ‘People team’ as they are passionate in creating a calm environment for their customers/stakeholders.

Human resources are also responsible for legislation acts such as:• Equal pay act 1970• Equal Pay Act 1970• Sex Discrimination Act 1975 & 1986• Race Relations Act 1976• Disability Discrimination Act 1995• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974• Employment Rights Act 1996http://foundersguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Untitled-Infographic1.pngFinance This is the department responsible for organizing the company’s financing, accounting, planning and auditing. This area of the business is also responsible for managing the cash flow for the business which is very important as the company needs money to operate. There are different roles in the finance department in a business such as accounting which prepare the financial reports, keep all financial records and record all transactions. The people which manage the payroll are responsible for calculating the annual salaries/pay the employees receive and also work out any deductions which need to take place.

The ones responsible for organising the costs and budgets and responsible for setting targets and budgets for the department, analysing any past costs, working out the prices for services or products and also have to compare budgets to actual figures. The ones who manage finance research what resources are needed for the business and also aim to raise additional capital for resources whenever possible.Tesco’s finance department works across a number of different areas such as investor relations, audit, treasury and operations. Tesco believe that their finance department is the heart of their company because they believe it is crucial to have outstanding financial management and planning tactics.

Tesco and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) also own a British retail banking society which is evidently called Tesco Bank which is a 50:50 joint venture for Tesco and RBS.ICTThe information technology department in a business is responsible for all forms of computers, all computer hardware and software and also communications equipment. Computers and technology nowadays are crucial for a business because without them they would be unable to complete tasks, analyse data, perform complicated calculations, share data and statistics, and make multiple copies of any documents.Tesco have over 100 different websites and apps but their main websites are for shopping, information and even job recruitment. Tesco use technology in order to promote their business as much as possible and use it to improve and sustain their business. Tesco’s ICT department are responsible for updating and managing their online websites.OperationsOperations is the department responsible for producing goods and services, quality control, stock control (managing current stock and ordering new stock), logistics (deliveries) and manage the equipment used by the business. The process in which products are made is that raw materials are collected, the production process takes place and the finished product is produced.

There are different types of production such as a Job which is an occasional/one off item such as a painting, another type is a batch which is when you make a lot of one item e.g. food products such as bread and another type is a continuous flow is made over a production line such as a car. Operations also has to manage quality control which means to maintain standards in their products and also manages quality assurance which means to maintain the quality of a product. Tesco extended its operations outside of the United Kingdom to 11 other countries in order to expand their business as much as possible, recently Tesco put 1700 jobs at risk to simplify their operations and to save as much money as possible, they are doing this to deliver a more helpful experience for colleagues and customers.

Marketing and SalesMarketing and sales are vital for the growth in any business, they are responsible for promoting a business and aim to achieve greater sales of its goods and services. Marketing is supplying a product to a customer at the right time, place and price. They need to carry out market research in order to discover what needs their customer has such as what product appeals to customer, how much would the customer would be willing to pay and also what age, gender, lifestyle, income and area their customer has. There are two types of research, primary research is gathering data out in the field e.

g. questionnaires and surveys. The other type of research is called secondary data which is data collected from another party and not yourself.Customer ServiceCustomer service is the department responsible for assisting customers, providing information on products and services, delivery information, help-lines and can provide advice for customers. This may be before, after or during a purchase of goods/services. Many stores have a customer service desk/till where people can file their complaints so in the situation of a customer seeking to return a product whether it was faulty or unwanted they would approach the customer service desk.AdministrationAdministration offers help and support to the business as a whole, it is commonly referred to as the ‘backbone ‘of the business, it makes decisions for the business, reviews financial documents and is also responsible for the smaller tasks such as filing and keeping records, photocopying and secretarial services.