Unit 1b – Functions of Departments How are businesses organised

Shareholders A shareholder is an individual or company that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a company. A company's shareholders collectively own that company.

Board of Directors A Board of Directors are a group of people whose main responsibility is to ensure that the company achieves its aims. They ensure that the company operates within the law. The Managing Director and the General Manager may be on the Board of Directors.

Managing Director The Managing Director will be responsible for the overall running of the organisation. He/she is involved in the long term planning and decision making for the organisation.

General Manager The General Manager will report to the Managing Director. He/she is responsible for the day to day running of the organisation. For example, they will delegate tasks to departmental managers and ensure that everyone below them carries out their duties.

Departmental Manager A Departmental Manager will report directly to the General Manager. He/she will be responsible for the running of their own department and the staff within it. Their duties will include holiday rotas, target setting, team building.

Supervisors Supervisors will report to Department Managers. They will supervise staff and carry out duties within the department. For example, check staff timekeeping, on-the-job training, completing duty rotas.

Administrative/Clerical Assistant Administrative/Clerical Assistants will report directly to the Supervisor and will carry out any duties given to them eg word processing, answering the telephone, filing, photocopying, preparing order forms.