Most businesses today are sub-divided into a number of different departments, each of which will focus their efforts on a specific activity or role, which will ultimately aid the business in its quest to fulfil its short and long term objectives. The volume of personnel in these departments will range greatly - some may contain just a few people and be based on one small site, while others may contain thousands and be spread across the four corners of the globe.
Potentially, there could be many many different departments within a firm, however the main functional areas are generally considered to be limited to around five in number. Functional areas will of course differ from firm to firm. For example, a firm working in a the tertiary service industry is unlikely to have a manufacturing department. That said, manufacturing can still be considered as one of the primary functional areas within a business. Without a manufacturing department, the firm would, in most cases be devoid of one of the most valuable commodities in business - a product. …
