Business management - Essay Example

While, the list of functional areas that exist within a business is extensive and also reliant upon the nature of an organization, its scale and the industry in which it operates, the primary functional areas of a business can be classified as: human resources, administration, production, finance and marketing and sales (Carysforth and Neild 2000). Consequently, organizations that operate in the information technology industry may have a dedicated IT department while, manufacturing industries may finance the establishment of a research and development department in addition with the primary functional areas that have been identified in the paper.

Accordingly, the focus of the paper is dedicated towards an examination of the functions of human resources and administration which are two distinct functional areas of business that interest me the most as a student of business management. According to Sims (2007) the business landscape of the twenty-first century is marked by the growing importance of human resources as a pivotal component of organizations. . These aspects include the procedures of recruitment, selection, training and development, learning, motivation, complying by labor laws and ensuring that health and safety regulations are met.

Therefore, my role as a human resources manager would be designed to successfully meet the stated purposes of the human resources function. This would involve the management of the entire HR system which constitutes of the recruitment process and employee dismissal, examination of employee performance to design appropriate benefits and compensation packages and the initiation of comprehensive employee engagement, training and development measures to enhance individual potential (Chuang and Liao 2010).

An interesting observation with regards to the assessment of the functional areas of business is that each and every department is provided with a distinct purpose and direction which is much unique and different from that of the other. However, the administration function is the only area of an organization which serves a wider purpose by assisting the operations of human resources, finance, marketing and production departments amongst others. With the introduction of diversified concepts such as organizational innovation and knowledge management with respect to business operations, the significance of establishing a comprehensive administrative system under the administration function has been augmented.

Liao and Wu (2010) classify the development of an administrative system as a part of an organization’s process of innovation which is pivotal to the success of today’s business. The fact that the administration department is