essay about business functions

Essay on 8 Business Functions: What They Do And How They Work

Essay on 8 business function.

A business, in the simplest sense, is a group of people who work together to sell goods or services. The most basic function of a business is sales and marketing. Sales are an important part of any business because they generate money for the company while marketing helps create awareness about your product or service.

To succeed in sales, the first thing that you need to understand is the difference between a customer and a prospect. Your prospects are the people who are interested in the product or service you offer. You need to create a lead list for your product or service and this will be a list of the people who are willing to listen to your sales pitch and make a decision about whether or not they want to buy.

#2 – Marketing

Marketing can be defined as the public and business promotion of products or services. There are many things that go into marketing; there is a place for a mix of traditional marketing methods and new technology such as social media.

Traditional methods such as the use of print and television, radio, outdoor advertising, direct mail and public relations can be used to promote a product.

Modern methods of marketing include direct sales and web-based marketing. Online marketing involves marketing a product or service online or through social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. There are many companies who offer various social media marketing services. Many businesses buy online marketing software such as Marketo and Big Commerce.

#3 – Operations

If the management is unable to keep the business going, it will end up facing bankruptcy. A business must always look out for a bigger and better place to stay. It is essential to have a clear strategy which will help guide the management in making the right decisions and taking right actions to achieve success. A clear strategy guides the company through different phases of growth. Vision of a business does not stand still. It must continuously look to increase its size and sales.

#4 – HR and Recruitment

HR and recruitment come next. It includes personnel, benefits, and corporate culture. The big goal in HR is to produce a great customer experience. Since the average employee can be the most profitable part of the company, you want to make sure that your employees are the happiest in their work.

#5 – Finance and Accounting

Since the finances and accounting function is in control of setting and approving the company’s cash flow, all the executives of the company must understand the basic concepts of it. The company must have a clear budget and know how to follow it. One area that can be important is managing cash flow.

The primary role of this function is to produce and keep records to prove that there is enough income for the company to keep running for the future. It is essential for any new company to have a business accountant who can help them get through the initial days of setting up.

#6 – Information Technology

IT plays a crucial role in running a business in the current scenario. The electronic trail of an organization is becoming the backbone of any company or individual. There is a growing trend of outsourcing IT work to external agencies because companies want to concentrate on their core competency.

The cost of IT solutions is a concern for many companies as well. The search for cost saving solutions of running an organization has forced many companies to leverage IT solutions to get the most out of their systems. With new technological advancements, the IT solutions can have a direct impact on company’s profit as well.

#7 – Logistics and Warehousing

Logistics is also a vital part of every business. Logistics covers the distribution of products throughout the business. The delivery of products will depend on the location of your business and the services it provides.

#8 – Customer Service

In a typical consumer purchase, the customer interface is the salesperson and the process of purchase. There is a direct tie between the salesperson and the consumer.

The salesperson is going to drive sales, create awareness, and ultimately sell to the consumer. And to do that, they need to make the experience as painless as possible. To do that, the business needs to service the customer.

Further Reading

Similar Posts

Examples of assonance in literature, useful english idioms related to problems, 8 reasons why reading is important for everyone, future perfect continuous tense worksheets with answers, starting sentences for essays & tips for opening sentences, an essay on importance of water in life (1000 words), leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Better Knowledge. Your Insight Is Sharper

Core vs. Support Business Functions: Building A Harmony For Success

Updated: July 4, 2024 - By Ahmad Nasrudin

Core and supporting business functions form the operational backbone of every enterprise. These interconnected activities work in tandem to generate revenue, deliver value to customers, and propel business growth . Understanding the distinction between these functions empowers business professionals to make informed decisions and investors to conduct sharper analyses of a company’s performance and future prospects.

Understanding business functions

Every company relies on a network of interconnected functions to operate effectively. These functions can be broadly categorized as core and supporting. Understanding this distinction is crucial for management to make informed decisions on resource allocation and for stakeholders like investors to analyze company performance.

Why business functions matter

A well-structured organization with clearly defined functions offers several advantages:

• Efficiency: Streamlined processes minimize duplication of effort and ensure everyone focuses on their area of expertise.
• Improved decision-making: By understanding how each function contributes to the whole, management can make strategic choices that benefit the entire organization.
• Enhanced accountability: Clear ownership of tasks increases accountability and motivates employees to perform at their best.

Let’s take a closer look at core and supporting functions:

• Core business functions: These are the revenue-generating activities that form the foundation of a company’s business model. In manufacturing companies, production is a core function. For a service-based business, delivering the service itself is the core function.
• Supporting business functions: These activities indirectly support core functions by providing essential services and resources. They don’t directly generate revenue but are critical for the smooth operation of the core functions.

Company size and structure

Smaller companies often have a simpler organizational structure, with departments handling multiple functions. For example, a small company might have a human resources department that also handles some administrative tasks.

Larger companies may have more specialized departments dedicated to specific functions. The marketing department might be further divided into sub-departments focusing on advertising, public relations, or social media marketing.

It’s important to note that the distinction between core and supporting functions can sometimes be blurry. In some cases, a supporting function may be considered core because of its strategic importance to the company’s revenue stream. For example, in a company offering highly customized products, both production and customer service functions might be considered core as they directly impact customer satisfaction and repeat business.

Core business functions

Core business functions are the lifeblood of a company, the revenue engines that propel its financial success. These activities directly contribute to the company’s bottom line by generating the products or services that customers pay for. They are the foundation upon which the entire business model rests.

Why core functions matter

Strong core functions are mission-critical for a company’s sustainability because they:

• Generate revenue: This is the most fundamental role of core functions. They directly create the value proposition that customers are willing to pay for. Without a well-functioning core, a company cannot sustain itself financially in the long run.
• Drive profitability: Beyond just generating revenue, core functions should be optimized for efficiency. This means minimizing waste, streamlining processes, and controlling costs. By doing so, companies can maximize their profit margins and increase overall financial health.
• Shape competitive advantage: A strong core function can be a powerful differentiator in the marketplace. For example, a manufacturer with a highly efficient production process may be able to offer lower prices or faster turnaround times than its competitors. Similarly, a service-based business with a team of highly skilled professionals may be able to command premium fees for its expertise.

Examples of core business functions

Manufacturing: Production is the core function of manufacturing companies. It involves transforming raw materials into finished goods through a series of well-defined processes. Efficiency and quality control are paramount in production, as they directly impact production costs and customer satisfaction.

Service delivery: For service-based businesses, delivering the service itself is the core function. This could involve providing consulting services, financial advice, healthcare services, or a variety of other professional services. The quality and expertise delivered during service provision directly impact customer satisfaction and repeat business .

Sales (in some companies): The sales function can be considered core in companies where it directly generates revenue. This is especially true for companies that rely on sales commissions to incentivize their salesforce or have complex sales processes that require significant expertise to navigate. In these cases, a skilled sales team plays a vital role in converting leads into paying customers.

Other strategic activities: Some companies may have other strategic activities that directly affect their revenue streams and can, therefore, be considered core functions. For example, a software company might consider research and development a core function if it continuously innovates and develops new products that drive sales. Similarly, a subscription-based service might consider customer success a core function if it focuses on retention strategies to ensure recurring revenue.

Supporting business functions

While core business functions grab the spotlight by generating revenue, supporting business functions play an equally critical role behind the scenes. These essential activities act as the backbone, providing the resources, infrastructure, and support necessary for core functions to operate smoothly and efficiently.

Supporting functions contribute to the success of core functions in several ways:

• Enhanced efficiency: Supporting functions help streamline processes, reduce waste, and optimize resource allocation. For example, the IT department might develop software tools that automate tasks in the production process, freeing up employees to focus on higher-value activities.
• Improved quality: Supporting functions like quality control and research and development ensure that products and services meet high standards. This minimizes errors, reduces waste, and enhances customer satisfaction.
• Strategic advantage: Effective supporting functions can contribute to a company’s competitive edge. For example, a strong human resources department can attract and retain top talent, giving the company an advantage in innovation and service delivery.

How supporting functions drive core success 

Here’s a closer look at some key supporting functions and how they contribute to core functions:

• Distribution and logistics: Ensures products reach customers on time and in good condition. This supports sales and customer satisfaction.
• Sales and marketing (except for revenue generation): Activities like market research, branding, and advertising create awareness and demand for the company’s products or services. This indirectly contributes to sales and revenue generation.
• Research and development: Develops new products and services or improves existing ones. This fuels innovation and keeps the company competitive in the long run.
• Customer service: Provides support to customers and addresses their inquiries and concerns. Excellent customer service builds loyalty and encourages repeat business.
• Information technology: Provides the technology infrastructure and tools needed for all departments to function effectively. This supports communication, data analysis, and process automation.
• Finance and accounting : Manages the company’s financial resources, tracks expenses, and provides financial data needed for decision-making. This supports overall business planning and resource allocation.
• Corporate strategy: Develops long-term plans to achieve the company’s goals. This provides direction and focus for all core and supporting functions.
• Human resources: Attracts, recruits, trains, and retains employees. A skilled and motivated workforce is essential for the success of all core functions.
• Communication: Ensures clear communication flows throughout the organization. This facilitates collaboration between departments and supports overall efficiency.
• Procurement: Acquires the materials, supplies, and equipment needed for core functions to operate. Efficient procurement practices can help control costs and ensure timely delivery of resources.
• Quality management: Implements systems and processes to ensure that products and services meet quality standards. This minimizes waste and enhances customer satisfaction.

Determining core vs. support functions

While the distinction between core and supporting functions is important, it’s not always black and white. Several factors can influence how a company categorizes these functions:

Company structure and industry

Smaller companies often have simpler structures where departments handle multiple functions. For example, a small marketing team might handle both market research (a supporting function) and some sales activities (potentially a core function in this case).

Industry also plays a role. In a consulting firm, delivering the consulting service itself would be the core function, while research and development might be supporting because innovation focuses on maintaining expertise rather than developing new products.

Strategic importance

Sometimes, a supporting function can be elevated to core status because of its strategic importance to the company’s revenue stream. Here are a few examples:

• Research and development: In a pharmaceutical company, research and development is critical for developing new drugs that drive sales. Here, RandD becomes a core function as it directly impacts the company’s ability to generate revenue from new products.
• Marketing: For a luxury fashion brand, a strong brand image, and effective marketing campaigns are essential for selling high-end products. In this case, marketing becomes a core function as it directly contributes to revenue generation.
• Customer Service: In a subscription-based service model, retaining customers is critical for recurring revenue. Therefore, customer service becomes a core function as it focuses on ensuring customer satisfaction and reducing churn.

Collaboration is key: working together for optimal performance

While core and supporting functions have distinct roles, their synergy is critical for optimal business performance. Seamless communication and integration between departments allow core functions to leverage the strengths of supporting functions and operate at peak efficiency.

Why collaboration matters

Effective collaboration between core and support functions offers several advantages:

• Improved decision-making: When departments share information and perspectives, companies can make more informed decisions that benefit the entire organization. For example, the marketing department might share customer insights with the production department to help them develop products that better meet customer needs.
• Enhanced innovation: Collaboration fosters creativity and innovation. By working together, departments can combine their expertise to develop new ideas and improve existing processes.
• Increased efficiency: Streamlined communication and clear handoffs between departments minimize duplication of effort and delays. This leads to increased efficiency and reduced costs.
• Stronger customer focus: When all departments work together with the customer in mind, companies can deliver a superior customer experience. For example, the sales team might provide customer feedback to the product development team, which can then incorporate these insights into future products.

Collaboration in action: examples across departments

Let’s explore some real-world examples of how core and supporting functions can collaborate for success:

• Marketing and sales: The marketing department can provide sales teams with targeted marketing materials and customer insights to help them close deals more effectively.
• Operations and finance: The operations department can provide the finance department with accurate cost data, which helps with budgeting and financial forecasting.
• Human resources and IT: HR can partner with IT to develop and implement new HR technologies to streamline recruitment, training, and payroll processes.
• Customer service and product development: The customer service department can collect customer feedback and relay it to the product development team, which can use this information to improve existing products or develop new ones.
• Business Functions: The Cornerstone of Effective Organizations
• Marketing Department: Strategy, Mix, and Customer Focus (Roles, Functions, Responsibilities)
• Human Resource Department Explained: Hiring, Training, & More (Roles, Functions)
• How are Business Functions Interrelated?
• Accounting and Finance Department: Roles, Responsibilities, Impacts
• Operations Department: Roles and Relationships With Other Business Functions

About Ahmad Nasrudin

I’m an introvert but I love writing. While my passion lies in storytelling, my professional journey began in the analytical world of finance. At a leading rating agency, I honed my analytical skills through equity research, credit risk assessment, and financial modeling. My background in statistics with a focus on macroeconomics adds a unique dimension to my writing.

with Nonjabulo Tshabalala

• Book an Online Lesson
• Breakdown of Subtopics and Exam Scope
• Paper 1 – Business Studies – Topics and Core Notes
• Paper 2 – Business Studies – Topics and Core Notes
• Study Guides / Workbooks – Business Studies
• Grade 12 Past Exam Papers
• Grade 10 & 11 Past Exam Papers
• Business Legislation · RSA
• (CAPS) Policy Documents
• Shop Resources

What Are The 8 Business Functions? A Simple Explanation

Table of Contents

Introduction to Business Functions

Business functions are the main activities that businesses need to perform in order to operate successfully. In a large company, each function may have its own department (such as the HR, Finance, or Marketing departments), but in a small business, the owner may handle all the duties, including hiring and firing employees, keeping track of company finances, conducting market research, and managing advertising campaigns.

In Business Studies, we learn that there are 8 business functions, namely:

General Management

Administration, human resources (hr), public relations (pr).

• General management is responsible for supervising all business operations. They make the important decisions which ensure that all the various business functions work harmoniously together, so that the company can run as efficiently and profitably as possible.
• Example : The CEO of a restaurant chain would form part of general management. They would decide things like opening new locations, creating new menu items, and ensuring that each restaurant is making a profit.
• Administration carries out a variety of support tasks that help the business run smoothly. Administrative duties include tasks such as communication, both written and verbal, gathering and processing data, as well as storing and sharing information.
• It includes typing documents, scheduling meetings, recording minutes, handling business inquiries, and greeting visitors at reception. IT also forms part of administration as it deals with data.
• HR is responsible for finding the most suitable employees and keeping them in the business. It also manages leaves, payroll, skills training, and conflict resolution.
• Example : In a software company, the HR would be responsible for posting job adverts when they need new software developers, ensuring employees get their salaries on time, and helping to resolve disagreements between coworkers.
• Marketing involves identifying customer needs by conducting market research, and meeting those needs by deciding on a product that satisfies the need at an attainable price. It also includes promotion which creates public awareness of the product and a desire to buy it.
• Activities include, using questionnaires and surveys to identify consumer needs and desires, ensuring that the prices are suitable for the target market and using adverts and other strategies to attract potential buyers.
• Note : Advertising and promotion are only a component of marketing. There is more to marketing than just advertising.
• The financial function is responsible for handling the money of the business. They acquire funds and manage the utilization thereof. This is includes keeping track of income, expenses, and profits, and ensuring that the various departments are sufficiently funded, and the business’s finances are healthy.
• Example : In a clothing retailer, the finance team would monitor how much money is made through clothing sales, how much is spent on rent, salaries, and other expenses, and determine whether company is making a profit.
• PR manages the company’s reputation. Their job is to create and maintain a positive image of the business, internally (with employees) and externally (with the public and other stakeholders). They do this by managing social media accounts, publishing press releases, responding to crises and customer feedback, as well as publishing internal newsletters.
• Example : If a restaurant accidentally serves a spoiled dish and a customer complains online, the PR team would respond with an apology, explain how they’re fixing the issue, and reassure other customers that they take food safety seriously.
• The purchasing function is responsible for getting the materials and supplies that a business needs to make its products or provide its services. They find the best deals and make sure everything arrives on time.
• Activities include sourcing suppliers for raw materials, trading goods and office equipment, negotiating long-term contracts and maintaining healthy relationships with suppliers.
• The production function is responsible for creating the products or services that a company sells. It is where inputs (labour, capital, resources) are turned into outputs (finished goods or services).
• Example : In a toy factory, the production function would design, assemble, and package the toys. In a toy store, it would include displaying the shelves in an attractive way, helping customers find products, and completing transactions.

Other Related Posts

• Forms of Ownership Simplified

What is Business Studies? Discover its Meaning and Purpose

Investing in Shares: The Advantages and Risks

• 9 Factors to Consider When Making Investment Decisions

Follow me on Social Media

TikTok  @nonjabulosa

YouTube  @nonjabulosa

Facebook  @nonjabulosa

Share this:

Related content.

September 12, 2023

Basic Business Concepts , Business Operation

Business Functions

Comments are closed.

Get in touch

Get More Business Studies Study Material Facebook

Recent Posts

• Download Business Studies 2024 ATPs and POAs for Grades 10-12
• Get Business Studies 2024 Scopes for Grades 10-12
• Discover How to Pass Business Studies: 4 Key Challenges and Solutions
• 6 Tips on How to Correctly Fill NSC Final Exam Answer Books

Top Posts & Pages

• Paper 1 - Business Studies - Topics and Core Notes
• Paper 2 - Business Studies - Topics and Core Notes
• Study Guides / Workbooks - Business Studies
• Business Studies Main Topics
• Definition of Corporate Social Investment: CSI vs CSR
• Grade 10 & 11 Past Exam Papers
• Describe the Differences Between CSR and CSI
• How to Deal with Diversity Issues in the Workplace

Email Address

Subscribe to FET Phase Business Studies via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new articles by email.

© 2024 FET Phase Business Studies — Powered by WordPress

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

Automated page speed optimizations for fast site performance

Different Business Functions Essays

Importance of different business functions, popular essay topics.

• American Dream
• Artificial Intelligence
• Black Lives Matter
• Bullying Essay
• Career Goals Essay
• Causes of the Civil War
• Child Abusing
• Civil Rights Movement
• Community Service
• Cultural Identity
• Cyber Bullying
• Death Penalty
• Depression Essay
• Domestic Violence
• Freedom of Speech
• Global Warming
• Gun Control
• Human Trafficking
• I Believe Essay
• Immigration
• Importance of Education
• Israel and Palestine Conflict
• Leadership Essay
• Legalizing Marijuanas
• Mental Health
• National Honor Society
• Police Brutality
• Pollution Essay
• Racism Essay
• Romeo and Juliet
• Same Sex Marriages
• Social Media
• The Great Gatsby
• The Yellow Wallpaper
• Time Management
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Violent Video Games
• What Makes You Unique
• Why I Want to Be a Nurse
• Send us an e-mail

Business Administrator Functions Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Thesis Statement

My experience and its relation to the business administration domain, requirements, salary, and other characteristics: job analysis, from the saddleback college to the csu fullerton: the future journey, values table: what tops the list of a business administrator’s priorities, works cited.

Despite its complexity and the efforts that it demands from a student in terms of the domains that have to be mastered, the skills that have to be learned and the information that needs to be acquired, being a business administrator is one of the most interesting jobs that the present-day education has to offer in the field of economics and management.

Acquiring the knowledge that a business administrator must possess will help learn to not only manage a team of employees, but also monitor numerous business processes, use strategic planning efficiently and be a successful leader, especially when it comes to making a career in business development, be it managing a restaurant chain or a pharmaceutical company.

Being an average employee is much harder than it may seem; being a leader is even harder since the pressure of the responsibility is much heavier. However, being employed as a business administrator must be the most complicated and at the same time, the most exciting stage of one’s career.

Unlike a company leader, a business administrator is hardly noticeable –, clients may even be completely unaware of their existence – yet a truly irreplaceable element of any firm. Scheduling, arranging, checking, and carrying out several other and more specific tasks, a business administrator is an element that no corporate mechanism can work without.

I have had quite an impressive experience in management in general and business administration in particular. To start with, I have been assisting my father, who owns a small pharmacy company, in running the firm and have learned quite several crucial details concerning the major financial administration issues, information management and data analysis, operating processes, sustainability concerns and the means to address them, etc.

The emphasis, however, was still on the financial aspect and the related transactions. However, apart from the niceties of financial management, I have also learned quite a lot about sustainability, which is also often attributed to the range of responsibilities of a business administrator.

As it turned out, the process of chemical waste disposal was much more complicated than the disposal of industrial or domestic waste; as a result, it took me quite a while to define the safest and the cheapest methods of transporting the waste to the landfill sites. Thus, as a business administrator, I had to handle the issues related to the company’s internal and external processes, particularly, logistics, some of the financial transactions and the environmental issues associated with pharmacy.

My second experience, though not as exotic as the first one, was also of great use for me as future business management and administration expert. I have also assisted my father in developing his restaurant business and administering a chain of restaurants. The given experience appeared even more useful than the one concerning operating the pharmacy.

Though the latter also demanded impressive skills, particularly in communication with the business partners, dealing with the transportation issues and other logistics related concerns, working on the improvement of the organization processes, etc., it was the restaurant business that made me realize how important business administration is.

The promotion process alone was a real eye-opener on the specifics of a company’s functioning; it never occurred to me that, when arranging business processes, one must take every single stakeholder into account, including not only possible partners but also customers and staff.

Also, as soon as we started hiring people as the restaurant personnel, it occurred to me that a business administrator must also know the specifics of human resource management; more to the point, it is crucial for a business administrator to have leadership qualities and be able to coordinate the work of all employees.

Seeing how the profession that I have chosen involves contacting with people daily, it can be assumed that working as a restaurant administrator and, thus, being constantly involved into the communication process, either with clients or with the staff, was of huge significance for me.

Like any other job, working as a business administrator requires specific qualities, skills, and knowledge. Admittedly well paid, the job of my choice is still very exhaustive; more importantly, the competitive rates are very high in the given field. According to the recent analysis results, business, and management, in general, are listed among the top five popular interest areas ( Strong Interest Inventory: Profile with College Profile 3).

Speaking of the salary, which a person specializing in the given field can expect their company to pay them for, the current data looks rather promising. To be more exact, according to the information published in the recent report, the medium annual salary for a specialist in business administration makes $120,510.

The position of a sales manager brings $105,600, a finance manager is paid $109,740 a year, the annual wages of a human resource manager make around $99,720, an administrator in hospitality management earns $88,580 annually, and a marketing manager is paid $119,480 on average ( Business Administration Salary: What You’ll Earn para. 2).

As it has been stressed above, the services of a business administrator can be needed in a variety of areas, the requirements for the candidate changing correspondingly. However, there are certain general rules, which can be applied to any domain, whether it is human resource management, company leadership, financial transactions, or any other aspect of company management.

As a rule, a business administrator is required to have a Bachelor or Master Degree and the certificate showing that the candidate has attended training courses, where the latest information concerning the duties of a business administrator has been provided ( Business Administration Salary: What You’ll Earn para. 3).

When it comes to analyzing the job itself, one must mention that, despite the vagueness surrounding the very term “business administrator,” the given position is ranked among the most popular ones in the United States.

As Hammer’s report shows, the position of my choice belongs to the Business and Finance Family (Hammer 8), which means that it is the sixth most popular area of students’ and entrepreneurs’ interest. Apart from obvious benefits, the given career choice, however, has minor downsides, such as the demand for specialists with at least two years of experience ( Instructor – Business Administration – U.S. National Averages para. 1).

The choice of the field in which the author of this essay is going to achieve excellence shrinks the number of the available occupations considerably. Even though the job of a business administrator embraces several areas starting from entrepreneurship up to the employment in a hospitality industry, it still presupposes that the number of jobs to choose from will be reduced considerably. Thus, the amount of schools, which can be chosen to get the education required for these jobs, has also been reduced.

After the number of the existing options had been restricted to California schools, I decided to choose the California State University because of the highly professional staff and the fact that the University provides its students with the latest and the most important information concerning the subject matter.

Also, it is crucial to keep in mind that a successful student will have to undergo sufficient training before entering university. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider such courses as CSU Transferrable Courses, CSU GE-Breadth Certification Courses, CSU US History, Constitution and American Ideas Courses, IGETC for UC and CSU, UC Transferable Courses and UC Transfer and Admission Eligibility Courses (ASSIST para. 4).

The domain that has been chosen for my future evolution as a professional is admittedly broad. Indeed, the skills of a business administrator are required in practically any field, which means that a plethora of choices will be open for me as soon as I graduate with a degree in Business Administration. However, of all options available, the following ones seem the most enticing:

Picking one of the jobs suggested above is not an easy task – each of them seems to offer rather rosy prospects. However, I would, probably, consider the position of a general and operational manager. Since the given career option presupposes that the person taking it should be able to handle various tasks and use their assets and skills to the maximum, it will contribute to my evolution of a specialist.

Also, the given job will not bind me to any particular routine and, therefore, will allow for developing each of my qualities and training all my skills in an appropriate manner. By analyzing and scheduling various elements of an organization’s daily routine, I will be able to understand the very nature of a company’s operations. More to the point, the given job will help me develop communication skills, which are crucial for any leader. It is noteworthy, though, that the given job does not presuppose much autonomy.

However, for a person working for a company, the amount of autonomy is rather little, to begin with. Every single decision made by business administrators, no matter what issue they are responsible for, must be in chord with the rest of the company’s decisions; otherwise, a firm will be dysfunctional. Speaking of personal preferences, the fact that general operations managers have enough variety in their daily routine seems the most encouraging factor for me at the moment.

ASSIST. Saddleback College Courses Applicable for Transfer . Web.

Business Administration Salary : What You’ll Earn . Web.

Hammer, Allen L. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Career Report 2014. Web.

Instructor – Business Administration – U.S. National Averages 2014. Web.

Strong Interest Inventory: Profile with College Profile . 2014. Web.

• Third World Liberation: Legacy of the TWLF at UC Berkeley
• The Study of Hygiene: Public Health
• Strategy and Planning: UCB’s and Baldrige’s Criteria
• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution in Business
• House of Quality Concept in Production
• “Pygmalion in Management” by John Livingston
• Performance Management: Purposes, Components, Relations
• Shrajah Free Zone Human Resource Diversity
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, May 11). Business Administrator Functions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-administrator-functions/

"Business Administrator Functions." IvyPanda , 11 May 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/business-administrator-functions/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Business Administrator Functions'. 11 May.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Business Administrator Functions." May 11, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-administrator-functions/.

1. IvyPanda . "Business Administrator Functions." May 11, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-administrator-functions/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Business Administrator Functions." May 11, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-administrator-functions/.

Revealed: Harvard Business School’s New MBA Essays For Applicants

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Reddit

Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.

With just 10 weeks before its first application deadline on Sept. 4th, Harvard Business School today (June 25) revealed a newly revised application for MBA candidates, including a new set of three short essays along with a refresh on how it will evaluate applicants for future classes.

The new prompts?

Business-Minded Essay : Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

Leadership-Focused Essay : What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

Growth-Oriented Essay : Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

NEW HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAYS PUT THROUGH BY NEW MBA ADMISSIONS CHIEF

Eagerly awaited by thousands of prospective students and admission consultants, you can bet that the admissions pages of the HBS website were continually refreshed all morning for a glimpse at the new essay. The Harvard Business School essay prompt for the Class of 2027 was posted at 10:30 a.m. with the opening of the 2024-2025 application online.

This year’s change was put through by Rupal Gadhia , who joined the school as managing director of admissions and financial aid last October. A 2004 Harvard MBA, Gadhia came to the school with no previous admissions experience, having been the global head of marketing for SharkNinja robots.

In explaining the change in a blog post , Gadhia noted that “we have refreshed the criteria on which we evaluate candidates. We are looking for applicants who are business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented…This is your opportunity to discuss meaningful or formative experiences that are important to you that you haven’t had a chance to fully explore elsewhere in your application…Be authentic, be yourself.”

WHAT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL IS REALLY LOOKING FOR IN THE NEW ESSAYS

The school added some context to its new criteria for admission, more clearly defining what it means by business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented.

Business-Minded

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about using business as a force for good – who strive to improve and transform companies, industries, and the world. We are seeking those who are eager to solve today’s biggest problems and shape the future through creative and integrated thinking. Being business-minded is about the interest to help organizations succeed, whether in the private, public, or non-profit sector. This business inclination can be found in individuals with a variety of professional and educational experiences, not just those who come from traditional business backgrounds.

In Your Application: We will look for evidence of your interpersonal skills, quantitative abilities, and the ways in which you plan to create impact through business in the future.

Leadership-Focused

We are looking for individuals who aspire to lead others toward making a difference in the world, and those who recognize that to build and sustain successful organizations, they must develop and nurture diverse teams. Leadership takes many forms in many contexts – you do not have to have a formal leadership role to make a difference. We deliberately create a class that includes different kinds of leaders, from the front-line manager to the startup founder to the behind-the-scenes thought leader.

In Your Application: Your leadership impact may be most evident in extracurriculars, community initiatives, or your professional work.

Growth-Oriented

We are looking for individuals who desire to broaden their perspectives through creative problem solving, active listening, and lively discussion. At HBS you will be surrounded by future leaders from around the world who will make you think more expansively about what impact you might have. Our case and field-based learning methods depend on the active participation of curious students who are excited to listen and learn from faculty and classmates, as well as contribute their own ideas and perspectives.

In Your Application: We will look for the ways in which you have grown, developed, and how you engage with the world around you.

TIGHTER TIMEFRAME FOR ROUND ONE APPLICANTS

The new essay prompts come  nearly two months after candidates to the school’s MBA program would more typically know what was expected of them. Some admission consultants say the delay over the prompt’s release, along with nearly a month’s slow down in releasing application deadlines, is “wildly insensitive” to applicants who will have less time than normal to prepare for the round one deadline of Sept. 4th.

That’s especially true because the most successful applicants to HBS have highly demanding jobs that consume the vast majority of their time. Many candidates go through multiple drafts of their essays to get them as close to perfection as humanly possible. MBA admission consultants are expecting a lot of up-to-the-deadline work this year to help prep candidates for Harvard and other top business schools.

The new application still preserves the post-interview reflection for applicants who are invited to a 30-minute admissions interview. Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through the school’s online application system.

REACTION TO THE NEW CHANGE IS MIXED

Early reaction to the change suggests the likelihood of mixed reviews. “This is an uninspired and odd set of questions,” says Sandy Kreisberg, founder of HBSGuru.com and an MBA admissions consultant who closely reads the tea leaves of Harvard’s admissions process. “I don’t know how it’s different from what else do you want us to know about you, frankly,” he adds in a reference to last year’s single essay prompt.

“HBS has certainly moved from the abstract to the concrete,” believes Jeremy Shinewald, founder and CEO of mbaMission, a leading MBA admissions consulting firm. “Some applicants previously felt like they didn’t know where to start and some weren’t sure if they had answered the question, even when they were done. Now, the questions are quite straightforward and all have a cause and effect relationship — one where the applicant discusses the past to reveal the present or future. Smart applicants will understand how to share their experiences and, more importantly, how to relay their values. Some will mistakenly try to whack HBS over the head with stories of their epic feats, but the key isn’t to brag or embellish – the key is to simply create a clear relationship, via narrative, between past experience and true motivations.”

Shinewald found it astonishing that Harvard could not have made the change earlier. “It is, of course, surprising that HBS left applicants on edge until the last minute, all to create very traditional essays,” he adds. “As applicants learn in MBA classrooms, change can be hard and take time. The bottom line here is that these essays are somewhat of an applicant’s dream – they allow the savvy applicant to play to their strengths and draw on their best anecdotes and experiences to create a complete story. Some applicants will lament the absence of a ‘Why HBS?’ prompt, but my guess is that the admissions committee recognized that they would get an almost homogenous collection of essays touting the case method and other well known features. HBS gets some kudos for keeping the focus on the applicant.”

Adds Petia Whitmore of My MBA Path: “I think they reflect one of the traits of this new generation of candidates which is that they don’t handle ambiguity well. So it seems like Harvard had to spell out what they’re looking for way more prescriptively than in the past.”

Some, however, find the new essays a return to the past. “To me, the prompts feel quite regressive, and a return to the more formulaic approach that pervaded MBA applications two decades ago,” believes Justin Marshall, a New York-based MBA admissions consultant. “Because the previous prompt was so open ended, it forced applicants to be introspective and self-aware. You couldn’t just ramble for 900 words; you had to identify themes in your life to show how your personal experiences shaped your values, your leadership style, and your goals. Comparatively, these new prompts are much more paint-by-numbers. Applicants will likely cover the same ground in terms of topic, but there’s very little room for nuance and self-expression. I think it will be harder for applicants with less conventional backgrounds and experiences to differentiate themselves. I’m sure HBS grew tired of reading so many painfully earnest ‘life story’ essays, but I suspect they’ll soon find themselves yearning for essays that have a heartbeat and personality. 250 words just doesn’t allow for that unless you’re a very crafty writer.”

Whatever the case, getting into Harvard’s MBA program is still a daunting exercise. Last year, 1,076 of the 8,264 candidates who applied for admission to Harvard Business School gained admission, an acceptance rate of 13.2%, making HBS the second most selective prestige MBA program in the country after Stanford Graduate School of Business which had an admit rate of 8.4%. Harvard saw a 15.4% drop in MBA applications from the 9,773 it received a year-earlier.

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay: How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (up to 400 words)

BIGGEST CHANGE IN HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY IN NEARLY A DECADE

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must provide an additional essay: The MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program is focused on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. Describe your past experiences in these areas and your reasons for pursuing a program with this focus. (recommended length: 500 words). Applicants will also be able to respond to an optional essay.

In any case, it’s the biggest change in Harvard Business School’s application in nearly a decade. The last time HBS made a major switch, moving to the essay prompt it just eliminated, was in 2016. That change to just one essay with no word limit and a post-interview reflection was made by then admissions chief Dee Leopold.

When Leopold applied to Harvard as an MBA candidate in 1978, she had to write eight essays. Over her years as managing director of admissions, she first cut the essays down to four and then one, making it optional, and finally the one last prompt with a post-interview reflection, saying that applying to HBS should not be a writing contest .

OUR BUSINESS CASUAL PODCAST: The New HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA Application:   Fortuna Admissions’ Caroline Diarte-Edwards and ApplicantLab’s Maria Wich-Vila join P&Q’s John A. Byrne to offer applicant advice on how to answer the new HBS essay prompts

DON’T MISS: 2024-2024 MBA APPLICATION DEADLINES or  HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL WILL NOW UPDATE ITS MBA ESSAY 

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.

• Stay Informed. Sign Up! Login Logout Search for:

Advice Column: Insider Tips For Your MBA Applications

What Harvard Business School Really Wants: How To Ace The HBS Essay

How To Ace The INSEAD Video Questions

Why Are MBA Application Goals Important?

• How To Use Poets&Quants MBA Admissions Consultant Directory
• How To Select An MBA Admissions Consultant
• MBA Admission Consulting Claims: How Credible?
• Suddenly Cozy: MBA Consultants and B-Schools
• The Cost: $6,850 Result: B-School

Our Partner Sites: Poets&Quants for Execs | Poets&Quants for Undergrads | Tipping the Scales | We See Genius

Biden's aides said his debate performance was poor because he struggles to function after 4 p.m., report says

• Joe Biden's aides defended his debate performance, citing his limited optimal hours, Axios said.
• Biden performs best between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., his aides told the publication.
• Some blamed his performance on overpreparation by aides, The Washington Post reported.

President Joe Biden 's aides have defended his debate performance, saying he struggles to function outside a six-hour window during the day, Axios reported.

The publication , citing people close to the president, said Biden worked best between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

According to the anonymous aides who spoke with Axios, Biden is more likely to make verbal mistakes and become tired outside this time period or while traveling abroad.

Business Insider could not independently verify the comments.

Biden's aides have also come under scrutiny. The Washington Post reported that some in Biden's inner circle blamed his poor performance on overpreparation.

Others said that too many aides were involved in his weeklong preparations at Camp David, the report added.

Biden and former President Donald Trump went head-to-head in their first debate of the year on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET in Atlanta.

Related stories

Commentators and politicians deemed the debate disastrous for Biden and questioned whether he was too old for another term as president.

During parts of the debate, Biden, who's 81, made confusing statements and appeared to forget what he was saying midsentence. For example, when asked about the national debt, Biden stumbled and said, "We finally beat Medicare."

"I spent half my career being criticized for being the youngest person in politics. I was the second-youngest person ever elected in the United States Senate — and now I'm the oldest," Biden said during the debate when asked to address concerns about his age .

His aides' comments seem to contradict Biden's own argument that age shouldn't be a factor in the presidential race.

"My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn't how old we are: It's about how old our ideas are," he said during the State of the Union address in March.

"You can't lead with ancient ideas that only take us back," he added.

He made a similar point in May during an interview with the MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle .

"I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people," he said. "And I'm more experienced than anybody that's ever run for the office. And I think I've proven myself to be honorable as well as also effective."

Biden has acknowledged he performed poorly in the debate but downplayed its importance.

"I don't walk as easy as I used to. I don't speak as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to," he said Friday to the crowd at a Raleigh, North Carolina, campaign rally .

"I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done," he added.

Representatives for the Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Watch: Here's what to expect at the Biden-Trump debate

• Main content

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Judge acquits 28 people accused in Panama Papers case, including law firm co-founder

FILE - Juergen Mossack, partner of the law firm Mossack-Fonseca, leaves the Supreme Court during the trial of the “Panama Papers” money laundering case in Panama City, April 8, 2024. On Friday, a Panamanian judge acquitted Mossack and 27 other people who were accused of money laundering in the notorious Panama Papers case. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)

• Copy Link copied

PANAMA CITY (AP) — A judge has acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering in an international case known as the Panama Papers, including the co-founder of a law firm that authorities say was at the center of a conspiracy to hide money linked to illegal activities.

Jürgen Mossack founded Mossack & Fonseca with then associate Ramón Fonseca, who died in May. Mossack was acquitted on Friday along with others after a Panamanian judge found that the evidence against Mossack didn’t comply with the chain of custody after authorities raided the office of the now defunct firm.

Prosecutors had accused Mossack, Fonseca and others of creating offshore companies and using complex transactions to hide money from illegal activities related to the so-called car wash corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to a charge related to using shell companies to hide millions of dollars in bribes paid worldwide to win public contracts.

The judge noted that other evidence in the Panama Papers case “was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility of the accused.”

In addition, the judge lifted personal and property precautionary measures against all the defendants, according to a judicial statement.

“We feel satisfied in the midst of mixed emotions, because many lives were affected along the way,” Guillermina Mc Donald, who was the defense attorney for Mossack and Fonseca, told The Associated Press. Her firm also represented 80% of the accused firm’s collaborators.

Judge Balaoisa Marquínez had decided to combine the Panama Papers case with another known as “Operation Car Wash,” a major anti-corruption investigation that began in Brazil.

On Friday, she ruled that in the car wash case, “it was not possible to determine the entry of money from illicit sources, coming from Brazil, into the Panamanian financial system with the purpose of hiding, concealing, disguising or helping to evade the legal consequences of the preceding crime.”

In June 2022, Mossack, Fonseca and 37 other people were acquitted in a separate money laundering case.

The investigation in Brazil began in 2014, with the Mossack & Fonseca firm later coming under scrutiny after 11 million financial documents tied to the company were leaked.

The repercussions of the leak were widespread: it led to the resignation of a prime minister in Iceland and brought scrutiny to now former leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.

An evidenced based approach to the discussion of the business functions of organisations

Added on   2022-08-09

About this Document

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management - Case Study of Unilever lg ...

Characteristics of supply chain network - unilever example lg ..., managing strategic resources and operations lg ..., understanding operations, logistics, and supply chain management lg ..., logistics and management: supply chain strategies and future sustainability of dell lg ..., supply chain management in mcdonald’s : essay lg ....

Fast fashion retailer Shein filed for London listing in early June

• Medium Text
• Company Salt & Shein Follow

Sign up here.

Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu; Additional reporting by James Davey and Huw Jones in London; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Jan Harvey and Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Business Chevron

Brent crude trades above $87, sets highest levels since April

Oil prices for Brent crude hit their highest level since April on Thursday, holding above $87 after data the previous day showed a decline in U.S. inventories.

Advertisement

Supported by

‘It’s All Happening Again.’ The Supply Chain Is Under Strain.

As Houthi rebels intensify strikes on vessels headed for the Suez Canal, global shipping prices are soaring, raising fears of product shortages and delays.

• Share full article

By Peter S. Goodman

Peter Goodman has reported extensively on the global supply chain since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stephanie Loomis had hoped that the chaos besieging the global supply chain was subsiding. The floating traffic jams off ports . The multiplying costs of moving freight . The resulting shortages of goods . All of this had seemed like an unpleasant memory confined to the Covid-19 pandemic.

No such luck.

As head of ocean freight for the Americas at Rhenus Logistics, a company based in Germany, Ms. Loomis spends her days negotiating with international shipping carriers on behalf of clients moving products and parts around the globe. Over the last few months, she has watched cargo prices soar as a series of disturbances have roiled the seas.

Late last year, Houthi rebels in Yemen began firing on ships entering the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal , a vital artery for vessels moving between Asia, Europe and the East Coast of the United States. That prompted ships to avoid the waterway, instead moving the long way around Africa, lengthening their journeys by as much as two weeks.

Then, a severe drought in Central America dropped water levels in the Panama Canal , forcing authorities to limit the number of ships passing through that crucial conduit for international trade.

In recent weeks, dockworkers have threatened to strike on the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States, while longshore workers at German ports have halted shifts in pursuit of better pay. Rail workers in Canada are poised to walk off the job, imperiling cargo moving across North America and threatening backups at major ports like Vancouver, British Columbia.

The intensifying upheaval in shipping is prompting carriers to lift rates while raising the specter of waterborne gridlock that could again threaten retailers with product shortages during the make-or-break holiday shopping season. The disruption could also exacerbate inflation, a source of economic anxiety animating the American presidential election.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

• Next Article
• Copyright Page

© 2024 International Monetary Fund

SIP/2024/021

IMF Selected Issues Paper

European Department

The Bulgarian Pension System: Caught Between Adequacy and Sustainability

Prepared by Jean-Jacques Hallaert

Authorized for distribution by Jean-François Dauphin

IMF Selected Issues Papers are prepared by IMF staff as background documentation for periodic consultations with member countries . It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on May 10, 2024. This paper is also published separately as IMF Country Report No 24/164.

ABSTRACT : During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulgarian authorities increased pensions substantially to support pensioners’ living standards and aggregate demand. These increases have become permanent and improved the adequacy of pensions. However, not matched by revenue measures, they have widened the deficit of the pension system. Reforms that increase the incentives to contribute to the pension system and thus revenue would improve the financial sustainability of the pension system and reduce fiscal risks.

RECOMMENDED CITATION : Hallaert, Jean-Jacques (2024) The Bulgarian Pension System: Caught Between Adequacy and Sustainability, Washington DC: International Monetary Fund, Selected Issues Paper, SIP/2024/021

SELECTED ISSUES PAPERS

SELECTED ISSUES

May 10, 2024

Approved By

Prepared By Jean-Jacques Hallaert

THE BULGARIAN PENSION SYSTEM: CAUGHT BETWEEN ADEQUACY AND SUSTAINABILITY

A. An Overview of the Pension System and of Past Policies to Ensure Financial Sustainability

B. The COVID-19 Pandemic Measures: A Game Changer that Increased Imbalances

C. Long-Term Demographic Pressures

D. How to Mitigate the Projected Increase in Pension Burden?

E. Conclusion

1. Various Population Projections

1. Pension Spending

2. Pensioners and Contributors

3. Expected Years in Retirement

4. Pension Level and Wage Evolution

5. Generosity of the Pension System

6. Contribution Rate to the Public System

7. Maximum Insurable Income and Wages

8. Replacement Rate and Elderly Poverty Rates

9. Pension Adequacy

10. Contributions to Public Pensions and Benefit Ratio

11. Payments to Pensioners

12. Social Contributions in Share of Payments to Pensioners

13. Fiscal Transfers to Cover the Deficits

14. Pension Entitlements in Social Insurance

15. Old-Age Dependency

16. Projected Increase in Public Pension Spending

17. Proportionality Measure Based on the 2021 Ageing Report

18. Contributions to the Public Pension System

19. Contribution Rates to the Public Pension

20. Fiscal Redistribution by Instrument

1. COVID-Related Fiscal Measures

2. Pension and Increases

3. Maximum Insurable Income and Maximum Pension

4. Population Growth by Age Group

Other IMF Content

• Front Matter
• Bulgaria: Selected Issues
• Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Pension System: Caught Between Adequacy and Sustainability

Other Publishers

Asian development bank.

• Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey Wave 2 (2021-2022): Survey Report
• The Social Protection Indicator for the Pacific: Tracking Developments in Social Protection
• ADB Economics Working Paper Series No. 559-Does Regional Integration Matter for Inclusive Growth? Evidence from the Multidimensional Regional Integration Index
• ADB Economics Working Paper Series No. 528: Push Factors and Capital Flows to Emerging Markets, Why Knowing Your Lender Matters More Than Fundamentals

Inter-American Development Bank

• Does It Matter How People Speak?
• Asset Inequality Does Matter: Lessons from Latin America
• The Cyclicality of International Public Sector Borrowing in Developing Countries: Does the Lender Matter?
• Do Education and Health Conditions Matter in a Large Cash Transfer? Evidence from a Honduran Experiment
• Decentralization, Fiscal Effort and Social Progress in Colombia at the Municipal Level, 1994-2009: Why Does National Politics Matter?
• Housing Policy Matters for the Poor: Housing Conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1995-2006
• Aid Effectiveness: Politics Matters
• Non-contributory pensions

Nordic Council of Ministers

• A matter of health and job satisfaction: Seniors, work and retirement in the Nordic region

The World Bank

• The Composition of Growth Matters For Poverty Alleviation
• Openness, inequality, and poverty: endowments matter
• How Does the Composition of Public Spending Matter?
• Why Resilience Matters: The Poverty Impacts of Disasters
• Cities at the Front Lines of Development
• Why Africa Matters to Americans
• Definition Matters: Metropolitan Areas And Agglomeration Economies In A Large Developing Country
• Does Culture Matter for Development?
• Mobile Metropolises: Urban Transport Matters
• Fragility and conflict: On the front lines of the fight against poverty
• Share on facebook Share on linkedin Share on twitter

Table of Contents

International Monetary Fund Copyright © 2010-2021. All Rights Reserved.

• [185.80.151.9]
• 185.80.151.9

Character limit 500 /500

• Understanding Enterprise Structures

Business Functions

A business unit can perform many business functions in Oracle Fusion Applications.

A business function represents a business process, or an activity that can be performed by people working within a business unit and describes how a business unit is used. The following business functions exist in Oracle Fusion applications:

Billing and revenue management

Collections management

Customer contract management

Customer payments

Expense management

Incentive compensation

Materials management

Payables invoicing

Payables payments

Procurement

Procurement contract management

Project accounting

Requisitioning

Although there is no relationship implemented in Oracle Fusion Applications, a business function logically indicates a presence of a department in the business unit with people performing tasks associated with these business functions. A business unit can have many departments performing various business functions. Optionally, you can define a hierarchy of divisions, business units, and departments as a tree over HCM organization units to represent your enterprise structure.

Your enterprise procedures can require a manager of a business unit to have responsibility for their profit and loss statement. In such cases, any segment that allows the identification of associated revenue and costs can be used as a profit center identification. The segment can be qualified as the Cost Center Segment .

However, there are cases where a business unit is performing only general and administrative functions, in which case your manager's financial goals are limited to cost containment or recovering of service costs. For example, if a shared service center at the corporate office provides services for more commercially-oriented business units, it doesn't show a profit and therefore, only tracks its costs.

In other cases, where your managers have a responsibility for the assets of the business unit, a balance sheet can be produced. The recommended best practice to produce a balance sheet is to setup the business unit as a balancing segment in the chart of accounts. The business unit balancing segment can roll up to divisions or other entities to represent your enterprise structure.

When a business function produces financial transactions, a business unit must be assigned to a primary ledger, and a default legal entity. Each business unit can post transactions to a single primary ledger, but it can process transactions for many legal entities.

The following business functions generate financial transactions and will require a primary ledger and a default legal entity:

Business Unit Hierarchy: Example

For example, your InFusion America Company provides:

Air quality monitoring systems through your division InFusion Air Systems

Customer financing through your division InFusion Financial Services

The InFusion Air Systems division further segments your business into the System Components and Installation Services subdivisions. Your subdivisions are divided by business units:

System Components by products: Air Compressors and Air Transmission

Installation Services by services: Electrical and Mechanical

The following figure shows an example of a business unit hierarchy.

Oracle Fusion applications facilitates independent balance sheet rollups for legal and management reporting by offering up to three balancing segments. Hierarchies created using a second or third balancing segment can provide the divisional results. For example, it's possible to define second or third balancing segment values to correspond to business units, and arrange them in a hierarchy where the higher nodes correspond to divisions and subdivisions, as in the InFusion US Division example.

A business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

AI Can’t Replace You at Work. Here’s Why.

July 2, 2024 • 4 min read.

Valery Yakubovich, executive director of Wharton's Mack Institute for Innovation Management, says that generative AI has a long way to go before it won't require intensive human oversight.

• Human Resources

Workers can stop worrying about being replaced by generative artificial intelligence.

Wharton experts Valery Yakubovich , Peter Cappelli , and Prasanna Tambe believe it isn’t going to happen as drastically as many predict. In an essay published in The Wall Street Journal , the professors contend that AI will most likely create more jobs for people because it needs intensive human oversight to produce useable results.

“The big claims about AI assume that if something is possible in theory, then it will happen in practice. That is a big leap,” they wrote. “Modern work is complex, and most jobs involve much more than the kind of things AI is good at — mainly summarizing text and generating output based on prompts.”

Yakubovich recently spoke to Wharton Business Daily, offering several key facts he hopes will allay people’s fears of robotic replacement. ( Listen to the podcast .) First, while generative AI has advanced rapidly, it still has a long way to go before it can function autonomously and predictably, which are key features that make it reliable. Second, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are capable of processing vast amounts of data, but they cannot parse it accurately and are prone to misleading  information, known as AI hallucinations .

“You get this output summary — how accurate is it? Who is going to adjudicate among alternative outputs on the same topic? Remember, it’s a black box,” said Yakubovich, who is executive director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management .

Third, companies are risk-averse and need to maintain a high degree of efficiency and control to be successful. So, they won’t be rushing to lay off all their people in exchange for technology that still has a lot of bugs to work out.

“The risk for companies is very high, and they are not going to move very fast.” — Valery Yakubovich

“If we are thinking 40, 50 years ahead, that’s wide-open ended,” Yakubovich said. “The issue we are discussing now is very the specific [needs] for business. The risk for companies is very high, and they are not going to move very fast.”

The Imperfection of AI

Despite its shortcomings, generative AI has been touted for its ability to handle what many consider to be mundane communication at work — interacting with customers online, producing reports, and writing marketing copy such as press releases. But the professors point out that many of those tasks have already been taken from workers. For example, chatbots handle customer complaints, and client-facing employees are often given scripted language vetted by lawyers.

Yakubovich said most office interaction is informal communication, and a lot of useful organizational knowledge is tacit. While digital tools are increasingly capable of capturing both, nobody wants their emails, Slack chats, or Zoom transcripts freely parsed by an LLM, and the quality of extracted information is hard to verify.

“I haven’t seen any company yet that dared to feed their emails into the models, because you can learn a lot about the company from that. Who wants to give open access?” he said. “It’s very hard to control what the model will produce and for whom. That’s why the models are very hard to use within the organization.”

Companies also don’t want AI involved in politically sensitive matters, especially if there are legal concerns. “What I see so far in talking to senior leaders of companies is that they try to avoid completely using models in politically charged cases because they know they will have more work to do adjudicating among the different parties,” he said.

Data science has been around for years, Yakubovich said, yet many companies still lack good infrastructure to organize the tremendous information that the technology is capable of collecting. Even if they built it, humans are still an indispensable part of making sense of it all.

“If you want to curate everything, it’s a lot of work, and this is where more jobs will emerge,” he said.

More From Knowledge at Wharton

Co-Intelligence: How to Live and Work with AI

AI May Not Be a Job Killer

AI in Sports

Looking for more insights.

Sign up to stay informed about our latest article releases.