Business Functions

Business Functions

Business functions refer to the daily activities carried out by a business enterprise. The functions facilitate the intended purpose of the enterprise. The business functions include accounting and finance, marketing and supply chain management

Accounting and Finance

In accounting and finance, a business function deals with all money-related issues in an organisation. As a finance officer, I will base my objectives on achieving a proper source of finance for the business activities. Secondly, an adequate cash flow system should be in place to control the inflow and outflow of cash and credit control should be appropriate to avoid insolvency in a business (Färbe et al. 46). In executing the role of a finance officer, some activities can overwhelm a worker following activities such as inaccurate recording of transactions that can limit the groundwork for long-term profit. Using the outdated software in financial record and reports could lead to inefficient reports to the management. Whereas, regulatory requirements and compliance deadlines where the officer struggles to meet the final deadlines otherwise the outcome could impact the efficiency of the worker who may be perceived as incompetent. Lastly, bad data which sounds like a virus in financial reporting also drive crazy. The bad data renders the whole report useless.

Marketing

Marketing involves creating a direct and reliable contact with the customer. The main objectives of marketing include doing thorough market research where the marketer identifies the opportunities, potential customers, and understanding the target market. Another goal becomes the new product development where the marketer works with the production department to make sure the new merchandise meets customer expectation. Lastly, obtaining a proper marketing mix that involves developing strategies will help in selling the product such as pricing, branding and distribution channels. However, there are some factors in marketing that can adversely impact marketing. They include inexperienced employees where technological advances have left vital marketing roles without the necessary workforce. There’s also difficulty in interpretation and analysis of marketing report data since new strategies and ideas develop every day. Lack of relevant information limits the communication and hinders problem-solving, and so the marketer ends up making foreign policy.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management refers to the operations of the business. It involves production and distribution. The main objectives herein include proper quality control, adequate planning for output, sufficient distribution channels, efficient purchase, and stock control and proper research and development that involves innovations and product development. The role to has challenges which include cost control that has been hectic since the fuels costs continue rising, increasing labor rates (Färbe et al. 48). Maintaining supplier partner relationship becomes a challenge when the systems don’t convince such as the communication tool and performance measures. Lastly planning and risk management where periodic assessments and redesigns are needed to control the risks as such it challenges the manager as resources might be scarce.

Conflict between Marketing and Supply Chain

The conflict between marketing and supply chain exists. Here the production department head views himself as the person who controls the enterprise and slowly gains authority and lowers production pace to a level that pleases him and not the market demand. Also, the production department may not sense the market forces and keep on producing on how they have always done and so causing a conflict (Sodhi and Christopher 100). The battle between finance and supply chain arise when the distribution department needs more finances for their activities, yet the businesses don’t yield enough revenue for the business. It causes the finance department laxity.

Enhancing Collaboration in the Aggregate Planning Process

On enhancing collaboration in the aggregate planning process for demand, supply, and financial planning, a company needs to adopt a market-driven plan and operating model based on demand shaping. It’s achieved by adjusting prices and promotion strategies. Also, the organization can build an adaptive supply chain with rapid planning and execution that involves installing new models and technologies (Thomé 5). Lastly, the organization should optimize product designs and management to accelerate profitability and so cutting on costs and enabling financial planning effectively.

Works Cited

Färber, Franz, et al. “SAP HANA Database: Data Management for Modern Business Applications.” ACM Sigmod Record vol. 40, no. 4, 2012, pp. 45-51.

Sodhi, ManMohan S., and Christopher S. Tang. ”Strategic Approaches For Mitigating Supply Chain Risks.” Managing Supply Chain Risk. Springer, Boston, MA, 2012. 95-108.

Thomé, Antônio Márcio Tavares, et al. ”Sales and Operations Planning: A Research Synthesis.” International Journal of Production Economics

vol. 138, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1-13.