LICEO DE PULILAN COLLEGES, INC.

Esguerra st., Longos, Pulilan, Bulacan

Tel: (044) 326-0296

Corporate
Departments
Business Insider 101

Mr. Khlevin Dannielle Oliveros Yambao

Instructor, Liceo de Pulilan Colleges, Inc.

“I’m not saying that I’m going to change the world, but I guarantee that I
will spark the brain that will”

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 WHAT ARE THE DEPARTMENTS IN A BUSINESS?

Businesses often have several departments that perform unique functions, allowing
them to operate efficiently and successfully. You may be curious about specific tasks
different business departments engage in and what their general purpose is.
Understanding how each department within a business works and what they
contribute to its success can be helpful in expanding both your business vocabulary
and knowledge.

In this article, we explain what business departments are and give you a complete
overview of the different types of departments and what their purposes and uses are
with answers to frequently asked questions about how to structure departments in a
business.

WHAT ARE BUSINESS DEPARTMENTS?

Business departments are divisions within a business that specialize in offering certain
services that contribute to the overall functionality of the business. Each department
within a business serves a unique, specialized role and operates under a set
organizational structure of the business owner's choice. Whether the business is a
business that sells items, creates products or manufactures materials, it always has
some type of structure that allows for departments to operate.

In some cases, a business may combine two different departments into one cohesive,
bigger department in an effort to save time, streamline processes, leverage resources
and create as many efficiencies as possible. For instance, a business may combine its
accounting and finance departments into one larger accounting and finance
department, since the two departments share similar tasks and ultimately similar
goals. While this doesn't lessen the importance of the unique tasks that the accounting
and finance department accomplishes, it allows for the sharing of resources between
the two former independent departments.

TYPES OF BUSINESS DEPARTMENTS

There are a variety of different, specialized departments that a business typically has.
Here are overviews of a few of the most common departments within a business:

HUMAN RESOURCES

The human resources department is responsible for handling all aspects of a business'
employee life cycle, including their recruiting, hiring and offering assistance for any
issues they may experience during employment. This department focuses on assisting
all business personnel with training, development, compensation, relations, benefits
and legal compliance.

Typically, a human resources department within a business does the following:

1. Recruits staff members
2. Maintains employee records

LEGAL COPYRIGHTS: Some of the contents in this Module are protected copyrights.
Distribution and reproduction in any form, including but not limited to photocopying, retyping, and scanning, is not permitted at all under the
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 3. Secures benefits for employees
4. Trains staff members
5. Oversees benefits administration
6. Creates employee wellness initiatives
7. Ensures business adheres to legal rules and guidelines
8. Conducts HR market research
9. Plans employee engagement and reward programs
10. Facilitates employee performance reviews
11. Oversees workforce safety
12. Creates business policies
13. Performs onboarding processes
14. Forms and maintains relationships with insurers

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

The operations management department of a business handles the oversight of

planning, organization, production and manufacturing within a business. This
department primarily focuses on the delivery of programs, products or services and
emphasizes the end-goal as its most important task.

Typically, the operations management department within a business does the

following:
1. Creates strategies for improved operations performance
2. Assists the human resources department with recruiting
3. Searches for opportunities in which the businesses can participate
4. Develops policies or guidelines for business
5. Creates and promotes company culture
6. Oversees business plans
7. Creates short-term and long-term goals for operations
8. Monitors business' compliance with legal rules and guidelines
9. Researches the market for ideas for growth or development
10. Oversees auditing of business
11. Support communication between management, staff members and other
departments
12. Collaborates with business stakeholders, if any
13. Holds meetings with business' board of directors, if applicable, to discuss
business plans

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The information technology department, commonly referred to as the IT department,
functions to ensure that a business's network of computers and other technology
operates correctly. The IT department focuses on maintaining the computer
infrastructure, holding governance over the entire business's use of technology and
ensuring the functionality of all systems in use.

Typically, an information technology department within a business does the following:

1. Implements new software
2. Trains business employees on how to use software, programs and technology
3. Maintains computer infrastructures
4. Performs software updates

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 5. Oversee data and information storage
6. Installs hardware
7. Acts as a technology consultant for all business departments
8. Troubleshoots computer or network issues
9. Researches new software and IT supplies
10. Performs system backups
11. Configures work phones and mobile devices
12. Installs cloud-based services and applications
13. Maintains business website
14. Repairs hardware
15. Maintains business' internal network
16. Offers end-user support

MARKETING DEPARTMENT
The marketing department of a business functions to promote said business and all
that it has to offer the public and prospective customers. It's common for businesses
to combine their sales and marketing departments into one larger department due to
their similar goals. The exact responsibilities of a marketing department, therefore,
can vary from business to business.

Typically, a marketing department within a business does the following:

1. Develops marketing campaigns
2. Conducts market research
3. Manages company brand
4. Forms relationships with marketing and advertisement partners
5. Writes content for marketing materials
6. Maintains business' website
7. Develops social media marketing strategies and campaigns
8. Collaborates with other departments to market products accurately
9. Identifies target audiences
10. Writes email campaigns
11. Uses search engine optimization (SEO) tactics for website
12. Reviews marketing campaigns
13. Manages relationships with marketing partners
14. Researches customer demographic information

SALES
The sales department of a business functions to facilitate and secures a business' sales
to generate and maximize revenue. This department determines sales prices and
changes them as needed in an effort to sell the most of any product, program or
service.

Typically, a sales department within a business does the following:

1. Facilitates the sales of items
2. Sets prices for products
3. Creates sales plans
4. Develops strategies for increasing sales
5. Creates relationships with sales partners
6. Reviews sales plans results
7. Manages inventory of products
8. Provides customer service

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 9. Creates goals for the department to reach
10. Develops distribution plans
11. Creates promotional materials
12. Maintains relationships with sales partners
13. Collaborates with the marketing department to promote items

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE DEPARTMENTS

The accounting and finance department of a business functions to handle all aspects
of a business's finances. Typically, the accounting department and the finance
department within a business have the same tasks and goals. It's common for
businesses to pair their finance and accounting departments together to create a
combined department so they can share resources and create efficiencies.

Typically, an accounting finance department within a business does the following:

1. Creates feasibility reports
2. Offers financial advice to other departments
3. Manages equity
4. Creates funding plans
5. Supervises inflow and outflows of business funds
6. Pays debtors and suppliers
7. Manages payroll
8. Identifies financial risks
9. Ensures timely allocation of funds to designated areas
10. Collaborates with other departments to determine their specific financials
11. Creates financial risk management plans
12. Performs bookkeeping
13. Prepares budgets
14. Examines financial reports and data
15. Manages all finance-related systems

PRODUCTION, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

The production, research and development department of a business functions to
conduct research on programs, products or services a business may offer, create that
product and develop it until it's ready for sale. Usually, only larger businesses have
this type of department.

Typically, the production, research and development department within business

does the following:
1. Conducts market research
2. Performs product research
3. Creates development plans
4. Designs products
5. Conducts product tests
6. Reviews reports on products
7. Analyzes processes for development
8. Engages in quality control and assurance
9. Collaborates with sales and marketing departments

LEGAL COPYRIGHTS: Some of the contents in this Module are protected copyrights.
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FAQs about business departments
The concept of business departments and all they entail often inspire questions. Here
are some frequently asked questions about business departments in addition to their
answers:

How many departments should a business have?

In general, no matter how small a business is, a business should have two to three
functioning departments so it can operate successfully. Generally, a business requires
at least an accounting or finance department in addition to a human resources
department. Corporate structured businesses typically have five major departments,
including finance, marketing, operations management, human resources and
information technology, so publicly traded corporations may require all of these five
major divisions.

It's important to note that in some cases, it's not always necessary for a business to
have every single type of business department. For instance, a locally owned real
estate business may need a human resource department, a finance and accounting
department and a marketing department to function and succeed in the market. The
business likely doesn't need a sales department or a production, research and
development department in order to succeed.

How do you decide which departments a business should have?

Determining which all departments a business should have can be a straightforward

and efficient process if you consider a couple of factors:
 Number of people the business employs
 Products or services the business sells
 Methods the business uses to facilitate sales
 Consumers the business sells to

After you've considered the above factors, you can decide if the business requires a
department dedicated to addressing those elements. For instance, if the business
employs one person, it's not likely that it needs to have an entire dedicated human
resources department to manage compensation and benefits for that person.

Can you outsource business departments?

It's common for businesses of all sizes to outsource certain departments. For instance,
a locally owned business whose owner isn't skilled in marketing may hire an external
entity to conduct all marketing activities for them. Commonly, businesses also
outsource departments such as human resources, production, research and
development and finance and accounting.

LEGAL COPYRIGHTS: Some of the contents in this Module are protected copyrights.
Distribution and reproduction in any form, including but not limited to photocopying, retyping, and scanning, is not permitted at all under the
circumstances and is illegal. If you have any questions about this Module, please get in touch with the Author on the reference.