From the course: Understanding Business

Parts of the business

From the course: Understanding Business

Parts of the business

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- Big corporations are often made up of thousands of employees. Each employee in their own department. Each department responsible for different things. Dozens of people around us, and still, we often just focus on our job. At most, we might wonder why these folks are stressed, and perhaps we wonder why they sometimes ask us odd questions. Top executives though, they are top executives because they understand what every department does and what every department is capable of. Company success requires a team effort, and in huge organizations, leaders build teams made up of individuals with different strengths and capabilities. So, let's quickly get to know the team around you. Money is important in any business. Finance is responsible for getting money via loans or from investors. So, to make any project happen, you'll need the support of finance. Keeping track of the money is the job of accounting. How much cash do we have? Do we owe our suppliers money? How much does our customer owe us? So, accounting helps the company and its investors understand their present financial situation. Knowing your customers and finding new ones is the job of marketing. A good marketing team understands customers, what they like about our products and services, and what they'd like us to change or develop. So a good marketing team helps the company understand what it needs to do today and what they'll need to do to keep the customers they have and what they'll need to do to attract new ones. The sales team develops relationships with customers and then works to sell them goods and services at a competitive price. This helps bring in revenues. Having a good product that customers want to buy is only part of the battle. The supply chain team is responsible for buying, making, and moving products so customers get the right item at the right place at the right time. Supply chains need information for marketing and sales to know what to buy, what to make and where to move it. Accounting wants to know everything the supply chain bought, delivered, or has stored away as inventory. All of this data and information is collected, stored, and shared by IT, the information technology team. And of course, every department needs smart, motivated people. Hiring good employees and retaining those people is the job of the human resources team. Top executives are like great coaches. They know the value of building a good team and they understand how every person on the team can help them win. As you look to grow your career, do not underestimate the power of knowing the people around you and how each of them can be a productive part of your team.

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