Admin Services 3 Lesson Material 1213007427109853 9

8/2/2019 Admin Services 3 Lesson Material 1213007427109853 9

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Describe the roles of the FunctionalDepartments within an Organisation andActivities carried out by these Departments

Administrative Services Outcome 3

Inspiring Education 2006


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Learning Outcomes

What is an Organisation?

The Functional Areas of an

Organisation.

The Sales Department.

The Purchases Department.

The Finance Department.

The Human Resources Department.



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What is an Organisation?

An organisation is made up of many people.

The structure of the organisation is the wayin which all employees are organised.

Each employee is allocated to a specific

department within the organisation.

The departments of an organisation are alsoreferred to as the FUNCTIONAL areas.



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The Functional Areas of an Organisation


TheFunctional

Areas

SalesDepartment

PurchasesDepartment

FinanceDepartment

HumanResourcesDepartment


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The Sales Department

The Sales Department is responsible formaking sure that the customer is happy.

Employees in the Sales Department areresponsible for building a positiverelationship with the customer.

In order to understand the purpose of theSales function, lets look at the different

tasks that are carried out by the Sales

Department. Inspiring Education 2006


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The Role of the Sales Department

1. Creating positive customer relations

In order to create a good relationship with the customerthe first step is to find out exactly what the customer

wants. This is achieved by carrying out MarketResearch. For example, the Sales department couldcreate a questionnaire and ask customers about theirlikes and dislikes before creating a new product.

The next step is to show the customers that you valuethem by LISTENING. This is achieved by improvingexisting products and developing new ones to meet theirtastes.



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The Role of the Sales Department2. Communicate with customers at all times

To ensure that the relationship stays strong, it is important for the Salesdepartment to communicate with the customer at all times. This canbe done in the following ways:

Write letters informing customers of new products/services.

Advertise the new products or services using a variety of methods eg.Newspaper, TV, billboard, magazine, radio etc.

E-mail customers on a regular basis informing them of forthcoming sales

etc.

Create a professional website and ensure that it is kept up to date at alltimes.

Offer sales promotions to encourage the customers to buy the newproducts and services. Also, give discounts to promote customerloyalty. Inspiring Education 2006


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The Role of the Sales Department3. Process and monitor Customer Orders

It is very important that customer orders are dealt with quickly and to ahigh standard to make sure that the customer is happy at all times.

Before an order is placed, often the customer will ask about the priceand availability of the product. It is very important that the Sales teamhave price lists and catalogues available at all times and that they areup to date.

Once the customer places an order, the Sales team must ensure that it

is processed i.e action is taken to ensure that the customer receivestheir product quickly and to a high standard.

In order to monitor that the customers order has been received, the

Sales team can offer after-sales service. This means that if there areany problems or faults with the product the customer can return itimmediately or have any questions answered.



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The Purpose of a Price List and Catalogue A PRICE LIST

The price list clearly identifies the individual price of all products and services onoffer.

It will also identify any special discounts. For example, if a product or service isgoing out of fashion, the Sales Team will often decide to reduce prices in anattempt to get rid of all the leftover stock. IF the organisation is left with lots of

unwanted stock then it will lose an awful lot of money as it will have to go in thebin!

A CATALOGUE

The main purpose of the catalogue is to clearly show the customer what theproduct looks like.

The Next Directory is a very glossy, professional catalogue which clearly showsthe wide variety of products on offer.

Many sales teams now use the Internet to showcase their catalogues ascustomers can access it 24 hours a day. Also, the customer is able to enlargeimages and send an e-mail requesting more information or indeed place an orderof the item(s) he/she likes!



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The Purpose of an Order Form When customers wish to buy a product/service, they complete an

order form.

The purpose of the form is to make it easy for the customers torequest exactly what it is they wish to buy.

A customer can place an order over the telephone, the Internet orby letter.

Many organisations create their own style of order form to make

sure that all the required information is gathered and that it can be

processed quickly.

It is important that both the customer and the Sales team have acopy of the order so that if any problems arose for example, thewrong colour of product was delivered - then it would be easy toidentify why the mistake happened.



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11Inspiring Education 2006

Price Quantity Total

Higher Business Admin Package

Int 2 Business Admin Package

Bundled Package(Both Higher & Int 2 Admin)

INVOICE ME Total Amount Payable

Please provide details for postage and your site licence :

Establishment __________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________

_________________________ Post Code ___________

Contact Name __________________________________________________________

Position __________________________________________________________

Phone ___________________ E-Mail ___________________________

Example of Inspiring Educations Order Form


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The Purchases Department

The Purchases Department is responsible for doingall the shopping for the business!

It is very important that the Purchases Departmentfinds the best supplier to make sure that the rawmaterials for the products/services are of a highquality, and that the price is reasonable.

In order to understand the purpose of thePurchases function, lets look at the different tasks

that are carried out by the Purchases Department.



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The Role of the Purchases Department1. Shopping

The Purchases Department is responsible for buying a number of resources for theorganisation:

RAW MATERIALS

These are bought from suppliers in order to make a product or a service. For example, imagine you own a bakery and you sell cakes. The raw materials you

would require to make a cake are: flour, eggs and milk.

GOODS

These are products which the organisation will buy to then sell on to the customer.

For example, imagine you are a newsagent. You sell a wide variety of sweets and

drinks. You would buy these in bulk from the wholesaler (Makro) then sell them toyour customers.

EQUIPMENT

In order to enable people to do their jobs correctly, the organisation needs to makesure that they have the appropriate equipment.

For example, in your Administration class you are provided with a computer so that

you can learn how to use the different pieces of software.Inspiring Education 2006


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The Role of the Purchases Department2. Process Requisitions

A requisition is simply a REQUEST.

The Purchases department is responsible for buying all the other departments

resources.

Whenever a department requires new stationary or a new piece of equipment,they will REQUEST the Purchases team to go and buy it. They must provide thePurchases team with the following information:

The quantity of good required (how much of one item they need).

A description of the product. For example, the name of the product and its colour andsize (5 packs of green A4 paper).

The date it was ordered.

The persons name and job title who placed the order so that the Purchases team know

who to contact when the order arrives or if there are any problems.Inspiring Education 2006


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The Role of the Purchases Department3. Manage Stock

Stock is the collection of goods that an organisation stores in order to use for aspecific purpose. Examples of stock are equipment and products which will besold on to customers.

In order to ensure that an accurate record of the stock in the organisation, it isimportant that the Purchases department keeps a stock record. This means thatthe Purchases team logs all the stock coming in to the stock room and going out.This will ensure that there is always enough stock to meet demand and that thereis not too much stock being held as this would be very expensive.

An important feature of stock management is ensuring that all stocks are of ahigh quality.

Finally, another feature of stock management is making sure that all stocks aresafe. If any of the stock gets damaged or stolen then measures must be taken tomake sure it does not happen again.



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The Role of the Purchases Department4. Establish and Maintain an excellent Supplier relationship

The supplier relationship is very important. The relationship between the supplierand the Purchases team must be based on trust and loyalty.

The Purchases team must find the best supplier for the organisation.

Features of a good supplier are:

Provides high quality goods.

Delivers goods on time.

Sets a very fair and reasonable price.

Offers trade credit this means that the organisation can buy goods from the supplierand pay for them at a later date.

Is near and easily accessible.



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Documents used within the Purchases Department


Quotation

If the organisation has aspecial request for a productor service, the supplier willprovide a quotation which

states the price of the order.

Delivery Note

The Purchases team willreceive a delivery note alongwith the ordered goods. Thisnote details exactly what was

ordered and what wasdelivered. This means that ifthere are any mistakes, theycan be reported immediately

to the supplier.

Credit Note

The supplier will issue a creditnote if faulty goods have beenreturned. This means that thePurchases team can use thecredit note for a future order.

InvoiceThe supplier will send the

customer an invoice statingthe delivery of goods and

when payment is due.


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The Finance Department

The Finance Department is responsible formanaging all the finances of the organisation.

The Finance team are responsible for dealing withall money coming into and going out of theorganisation.

In order to understand the purpose of the Financefunction, lets look at the different tasks that arecarried out by the Finances Department.



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The Role of the Finance Department1. Preparing and Presenting Final Accounts

The Finance team are responsible at the end of each financial year, torecord how well the organisation has performed financially.

In order to show how well the organisation has performed the Trading,Profit and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet are prepared.

The above documents will then be presented to Senior Managementwho will be informed of how much money the organisation has made orlost over the year.

This helps management in making decisions for the future. Forexample, if they need to cut costs they may decide to make some staffredundant. Or, alternatively, if they have made large profits, they maydecide to open up a new store so that they can grow.



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The Role of the Finance Department2. Paying Bills on behalf of the Organisation/Departments

The Finance team are responsible for paying for all purchases made within theorganisation. You have recently learnt that a Department will submit aREQUISITION form to the Purchases department for new resources. Thisinformation is then passed on to the Finance team who actually PAY for the

goods ordered.

When the supplier sends an INVOICE, the Finance team will check that it iscorrect. For example, check the quantity ordered; the price of each item etc.

It is essential that all invoices received are paid promptly to the supplier. This will

help establish the supplier relationship which could lead to discounts and tradecredit being offered in the future.

The most common method of payment the Finance team use is a CHEQUE.

The Finance team will ensure that an accurate record of all cheques paid is kept

to make sure that cash is being transferred appropriately.Inspiring Education 2006


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Processing a Cheque If the Finance team are paying the

supplier using a cheque the supplier isknown as the PAYEE.

The amount to be paid is written in textin full as well as in figures in the box atthe side.

The person who signs the cheque willbe an authorised employee of theFinance team. There will be a limitedamount of employees who are allowedto sign cheques to make sure thatnobody is misusing the organisations

cash.

Each cheque has a STUB. This meansthat when a cheque has been writtenand removed from the chequebook, thestub is left. To keep an accuraterecord, the stub will display the amountof money paid, to whom and on whichdate.

The cheque has not been signed.

The signature is false.

The cheque has been dated in advance

of when it is received.

The text showing the total amount isdifferent from the numbers showing thetotal amount.

The cheque appears to have been

falsified eg. The account number hasbeen changed or the date has beenchanged.


A Cheque will be refused if the following occurs:


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The Role of the Finance Department3. Paying Employees Wages

It is very important that the Finance Department works closely with theHuman Resources Department in ensuring that all employees are paidthe correct amount and on time.

The Human Resources Department informs the Finance Departmentexactly how much each individual employee should receive at the end ofeach month/week.

Once the Finance team have processed this information in their records,

the wages are automatically paid into each individuals bank account.

For smaller organisations, the Finance team may decide to make uppay packets by handing over cash at the end of each month/week.



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The Human Resources Department The Human Resources Department is responsible

for managing human resources of an organisationthe employees.

The Human Resources Department focuses onmeeting the needs of all employees and ensuringthat the work environment is a healthy and safe oneat all times.

In order to understand the purpose of the HumanResources function, lets look at the different tasks

that are carried out by the Human Resources

Department. Inspiring Education 2006


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The Role of the Human Resources Department1. Recruitment

The Human Resources Department is responsible for recruiting potentialcandidates for the job.

In order to do this effectively, there are a number of steps involved in therecruitment process:

1. Preparing a JOB DESCRIPTION this clearly describes the nature of the job and what itinvolves.

2. Preparing a PERSON SPECIFICATION this clearly describes the type of person theorganisation believes will best suit the job.

3. Advertising the vacancy it is important that the Human Resources team identifies themost suitable place to advertise eg. Local newspaper; Internet; radio etc.

4. Determining if the job should be advertised INTERNALLY or EXTERNALLY. Internalrecruitment means that an existing employee is given the job (promoted) whereasexternal recruitment means that the successful candidate comes from outwith theorganisation.



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The Role of the Human Resources Department2. Selection

The Human Resources Department is responsible for selecting the bestcandidate for the job.

In order to do this effectively, there are a number of steps involved in theselection process:

1. Gather all the applications forms received and identify the most suitable candidates.

2. Arrange interviews for the selected candidates. Normally, there are at least 2 rounds ofinterviews: the first one is referred to as the LONG LEAT usually consisting of 6 8candidates. The most successful 2 or 3 candidates would then be invited back for asecond interview referred to as the SHORT LEAT.

3. Once references have been consulted, the successful candidate will be informed of theirsuccess and be offered the job.

4. It is then important for all the unsuccessful candidates to be thanked for their interest inthe organisation and provided with feedback as to why they didnt get the job.



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The Role of the Human Resources Department

3. Calculating Wages

The Human Resources Department is responsible for ensuring that eachemployee receives the correct amount of pay.

The rate of pay depends upon the amount of hours the employee has worked:

FLAT RATES

The employee is paid by an hourly rate. For example, 4.50 an hour.

TIME RATES

The employee is paid depending upon the length of time he/she takes to complete the job.

OVERTIME RATES For every extra hour of overtime the employee works, he/she receives a higher hourly rate.

PIECE RATES

Depending upon how much the employee produces, will determine how much he/she gets paid.



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The Role of the Human Resources Department

4. Training

The Human Resources Department is responsible for ensuringthat each employee receives appropriate training to ensure thatthey know how to do their job and that their skills are developed

regularly.

Training courses are provided either in-house or at externalvenues whereby more specialist staff can train the employees.

If the Human Resources team ensure that the workforce isreceiving up-to-date training opportunities this will mean that theemployees will be motivated and keen to develop. This willresult in a happier and more productive workforce.
