Glossary
B Investigate how Businesses are Organised
BTEC Level 3 Business Studies. Unit 1: Exploring Business
Administration - The department of a company in charge of tasks that help other departments run smoothly. This includes organising paperwork, dealing with enquiries, and making travel arrangements.
Business Aims - The overall long-term target or goal of an organisation. What it wants, needs, and intends to achieve.
Business objectives - The stated, measurable goals that a company sets in order to achieve its aims. The steps to be taken in order to achieve long-term goals.
Customer Service - The department within a company that is in charge of assisting customers before, during, and after they make a purchase.
Finance - The department within an organisation in charge of keeping track of financial transactions and presenting financial data in a way that assists managers in making decisions.
Flat structure - Staff are organised with few levels of management and wider spans of control.
Functional areas - The various areas of a company where teams specialise in their roles.
Hierarchical structure - Staff are organised into a chain of command that flows from the top of the organisation down. There are usually multiple levels of management.
Holacratic structure - People in organisations form groups based on how they believe their objectives can be best met, rather than pre-defined teams.
Human Resources - The area of an organisation in charge of hiring, managing, and training employees.
IT - The department in charge of implementing, maintaining, and continuously improving an organisation's computer systems.
Marketing - The area of an organisation in charge of identifying, anticipating, and responding to customer needs in the most profitable way.
Mission - The overall goal that a company exists to achieve. E.g. To provide our customers with excellent vehicles while reducing emissions.
Not-for-profit objectives - Education, housing, alleviating poverty, healthcare
Organisational structure - The arrangement of people in an organization so that goals can be met. This includes forming teams and establishing authority structures.
Private sector objectives - Making profits, profit maximisation, break-even, survival, growth, market leadership
Production and Quality - The area of an organisation in charge of converting raw materials into goods and services that meet the needs of customers.
Public sector objectives - Service provision, cost control, value for money, service quality, meeting government standards
Purchasing - The area of an organisation responsible for buying the goods and services they need to operate such as raw materials and equipment. This involves building relationships with suppliers and negotiating prices.
Research and Development - The area of an organization concerned with product and process innovation, introduction, and improvement.
Sales - The department of an organisation in charge of selling goods and services and building customer loyalty.
SMART objectives - Targets that are Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound
Values - The ideas, philosophies, and principles that guide a company's aims and objectives. E.g. To act with integrity.
Vision - What the company aspires to be in the future. E.g. To be the most environmentally friendly car manufacturer.