Each company has its own culture, and therefore, the areas in which they divide their functions can vary greatly. For example, a small company generally only needs a more robust information management or project management department. They can unify these activities in another sector. On the other hand, large companies may require different management areas, such as foreign trade management or institutional relations. So, we will present the most common areas here, but remember that this is not an exhaustive list:
Financial Management
This department’s function is to plan, organize, direct and control financial activities, such as acquisition and use of company funds. It means applying general management principles to the company’s financial resources.
Companies need to make a reasonable estimate of costs and sales. Consideration of appropriate finance sources can help businesses avoid cash flow problems.
Furthermore, this sector is responsible for deciding how to raise and allocate capital, that is, the capital budget not only for the long-term budget but also for giving short-term resources, such as current liabilities. It also deals with the dividend policies of shareholders.
Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization responsible for recruiting, managing and guiding employees.
Members of the HR department provide knowledge, training and coaching, in addition to the more bureaucratic aspects, such as administrative services, legal consultancy and talent management and supervision, that the rest of the company needs for successful operations.
Additionally, HR departments are responsible for overseeing employee profiles, training and development, performance evaluation and payment (such as managing payment and benefits systems, for example).
HR also deals with organizational change and industrial relations, that is, balancing corporate practices with the requirements arising from collective bargaining and government laws.
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Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management is the sector responsible for all contact with the customer from post-purchase to the complaints ombudsman. Its main objective is to make customers satisfied throughout the purchasing process so that they become loyal and can recommend the company to other people.
Therefore, it is a department that seeks proactivity, not reactivity. In other words, it is no longer the sector that listens to customer complaints and tries to fix the company’s mistakes. He aims for something bigger: creating a positive cycle of customer contact. Thus, it notifies the consumer of promotions, asks about satisfaction, conducts opinion surveys about potential products, etc.
Information Management
Information management (IM) concerns a set of organizational activities: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custody and distribution of this information to those who need it, in addition to its final disposition through archiving or deletion.
Companies must be able to manage this information throughout their lifecycle, regardless of the source or format — data, paper documents, electronic documents, audio, video, etc. — to deliver them through multiple channels, such as mobile phones and web services.
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is the sector responsible for overseeing materials, information, and finances as they move through a process from supplier to manufacturer and wholesaler to retailer.
Supply chain activities cover everything from product development, sourcing, production and logistics, as well as software needed to coordinate these activities.
Supply chain management involves the coordination and integration of these flows between and within companies. The ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory volume — thus, rotation ensures that the right products are available at the right time.
Sales Management
Sales management is the process of developing strategies, coordinating operations, and implementing sales techniques that enable a company to meet and even exceed its sales objectives consistently.
In addition to helping your company achieve its sales goals, the sales management process allows companies to stay in tune with their industry as it grows.
To achieve companies’ goals, sales managers have broad responsibilities, including but not limited to forecasting demand, establishing quotas, budgeting, organizing, recruiting, training, compensating, and evaluating sales performance.
However, this industry’s most important role is not managing sales but managing the people who make them.
Marketing Management
Marketing management is the sector that has the organizational function of using a set of processes to create, communicate and offer value to the customer.
Marketing is considered the centre of a company’s success . Therefore, when a company fails to communicate the value of its product to customers, there is little chance of success. Marketing management must oversee this critical function.
Marketing managers must coordinate a range of activities, including identifying customer needs, communicating product value to potential customers, generating leads for the sales organization, and building an online presence — an area within marketing management that continues to grow in importance.
Furthermore, before deciding on a good strategy, a marketing manager must invest a good amount of time researching the market, considering who the best target customer is, how close his competitors are and how to make his company’s products a differentiator.
Project Management
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to design activities to meet project requirements.
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end. The main challenge of the project management industry is to achieve all the project objectives as per the specified requirements.
The project management process is divided into five phases:
- Start of the project
- Planning
- Execution
- Monitoring and control
- Closure
Therefore, a project manager needs a wide range of skills, often technical skills, people management skills and good business awareness.
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