Wednesday 15 May 2013

Task 6 extension

In this task I'm going to compare the main job roles in the main departments in two different organisations. I chose to write about Westminster Kingsway College and John Lewis.

Some examples for main departments in Westminster Kingsway College are Finance, Human Resources, ILT (Information and Learning Technology), Marketing, Professional Development, and Quality. Westminster Kingsway College is not a profit making business. It main purpose is to provide education to students.As well as the other organisations the college main aim is to present good image and provide good services to the students.

Examples for departments in John Lewis are Human Resources, Finance, Sales department, ICT, Research and Development, Marketing, and Customer Service. John Lewis is a profit making business but the role of the departments in achieving aims and objectives is quite similar. The company wants to provide new, innovative products in terms to get more customers and to satisfy their needs.

The departments that both companies have are Finance, HR, Marketing and ICT.

The finance department is to manage company's finance, keep records of all financial events and purchases within the business. The finance department is also responsible for the wages and salaries for the employees. 

Main responsibilities for the Accountants in John lewis are:

  • preparing regular financial statements and accounts, such as profit and loss accounts
  • monitoring spending, costs and budgets
  • analysing the company’s financial performance
  • forecasting and planning future spending and profits
  • recommending ways to reduce costs and increase profits
  • managing a team of accounting technicians and finance clerks
  • overseeing the company's payroll, credit control and bookkeeping systems.


Main responsibilities for Financial manager in WKC are:

  • providing financial information
  • monitoring and interpreting cash flows 
  • analysing change and advising accordingly
  • formulating strategic and long-term plans
  • researching and reporting on factors influencing the organisation performance
  • developing financial management that minimise financial risk
  • conducting evaluations for cost-reduction opportunities
  • managing a company's financial accounting, monitoring and reporting systems
  • producing accurate financial reports to specific deadlines
  • managing budgets
  • supervising staff
  • keeping abreast of changes in financial regulations and legislation.


The human resources function, in terms to achieve the company’s aims and objectives, is to take care for the staff, trainings and hiring the best person for the job. If the staff is well trained and committed to aims and objectives of the business, the organisation is more likely to be successful.

Main responsibilities for HR Advisor in John Lewis are:

  • Conducting job evaluations
  • Advising managers on recruitment and selection strategies
  • Coordinating the appointment process for successful applicants
  • Negotiating terms and conditions of employment with staff
  • Providing advice and playing a major role in work reviews and change processes
  • Updating and maintaining the HR Information System data
  • Advising on staff development
  • Consulting on issues related to workplace relations and performance management
  • Providing advice and assistance on policies, procedures, legislation, and enterprise agreements


Main responsibilities for HR Manager in WCK are:

  • Lead and direct the Human Resource team to deliver a comprehensive HR service to the college
  • Employee Relations managing absence, disciplinaries, grievances, sickness etc. Measure employee satisfaction and identify areas that require improvement
  • Learning & Development providing guidance on development for managers and their teams
  • Training - Carry out the training and development agenda; identify areas that need attention and improvement
  • Reward advise and support employees on organisation benefits
  • In conjunction with the Head of HR, ensure all company policies and procedures are up to date in line with current employment law
  • Working with senior managers, coaching them and advising on all people issues
  • Crafting of business and people solutions
  • Managing HR budgets


Marketing department must act as a guide and lead the company's other departments in developing, producing, fulfilling, and servicing products or services for their customers.It typically has a better understanding of the market and customers' needs and wants. 

Main responsibilities for the Marketing manager in John Lewis are:

  • researching and analysing market trends
  • coming up with marketing strategies
  • planning campaigns and managing budgets
  • organising the production of posters, brochures and websites
  • making sure that campaigns run to deadline and on budget
  • managing a team of marketing executives and assistants.


Main responsibilities for the Head of marketing in WKC are:
  • To research analyze and evaluate the competitive market environment
  • Develops, manages and implements creative, effective and successful annual marketing plans for the organisation along with the annual market plan and budget
  • Marketing plans should include Advertising and Public Relations
  • Keep effective control of budgets
  • Ensure that the college’s image is maintained at high standard.


ICT department helps with the IT maintenance, obtaining and installing hardware, obtaining and installing software, managing LAN and WAN networks and supporting IT users in an organisation. 

Main responsibilities for Network manager in John lewis are:

  • supervising technical staff
  • implementing network security measures
  • planning preventative maintenance schedules
  • monitoring and reporting on network performance and usage
  • managing network growth and development.


Main responsibilities for the ICT technician in WKC are:

  • installing new IT systems
  • upgrading existing hardware and software
  • testing systems to make sure that they are working properly
  • servicing printers, scanners and other office equipment 


A business is doing well and completes its aims and objectives easier if the functional areas work well together and communicate well to each other. The purpose of the functional areas is to ensure that the business activities are carried out efficiently. Specific areas will support different aims and objectives.
Different departments have their responsibility to achieve the aims and objectives of the company. They all work together to achieve the same target, to become better organisation, provide the best service and satisfy the customers’ needs and wants. 

Thursday 2 May 2013

Task 1 extension

In this part of the assignment I am going to explain the benefits of starting your own business. Starting it can be very stressful but entrepreneurs can get great rewards if they are lucky enough to create successful business.
Here are some rewards of going out on your own.:
Make your own money
Make your own decisions
A good experience

Independence and flexibility are ones of the main benefits for the entrepreneurs. People who work for themselves have more freedom and independence. One of the main goals for the people, who set up their own business, is the power. It's your own company, so you can make your employees do it your way. You make your own decisions and you get more experience. Money are also very important reward. You can get rich in a small business, or at least do very well financially. You can keep the money for yourself and do whatever you want with it. You can decide to invest it in your business of use it for personal needs.
If you want to start up your own business you need to think about some important things about your business. To succeed you'll need a business idea that works and have the skills you'll need. You need to think how much money you will spend and how to do your business plan. If you start your own business, the only person you have to answer to is yourself. The good thing about being an entrepreneur is that you choose what kind of firm you start up and where. So, providing that you've done your research properly and there is a gap in the market, you can turn a hobby or interest into a profitable enterprise. Meet your own targets can be a huge motivation to work hard and drive the business forward.

There are many advantages of creating your own business. Many famous people started their own businesses. Some examples are Jamal Edwards, Jack Cohen, Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, Levi Roots, Bill Gates, Karen Millen and many others. I am going to explain how some of them started from nothing and now they are rich and famous for what they do.

Jamal Edwards is 22. He has 130 million YouTube hits and is one of the biggest names in the music industry. He has £6 million. He is richer than pop icons Jessie J and Taio Cruz and still owns a 100% of his online broadcasting company SBTV. SBTV is a very modern broadcaster based only on YouTube. It publishes interviews, live events, and jam sessions of upcoming artists and music superstars.

Lord Alan Sugar is a British business magnate, media personality and political advisor. He has £770 million and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rick List 2011. He is most famous for his ventures, such as, Amstrad, Tottenham Hotspur, Amsair, Amsprop, Viglen LTD, Amscreen, and many TV appearances.

Karen Millen Fashions Limited is a British multi-national women's designer clothing retailer. The company was founded in 1981 from Karen Millen and Kevin Stanford. They bought one thousand metres of white cotton and began manufacturing and selling white shirts. Now the company has stores throughout many European countries.

These are only few examples of the people who started up their business. With the right planning, effort, and a little bit of luck you can set up your own successful business and make money from whatever you like to do.

In this task of the assignment I am going to write about the consequences for society of an increase in online business.

There are some consequences that affect the society in many different ways. Because of the online business has been accross the globe this affects the society and the way they shop.
Nowadays, many people prefer to stay at home on the computer and buy all they need with just one click on the mouse. Businesses provide deliveries at home, so it is very convinient for people because they don't need to go to the shop and carry heavy bags.

There are many disadvantages of the increase in online business. There is a lack of human contact. People don't go out often and they don't communicate to other people.
Another problem is that the society wants companies and organisations to make available well-paid jobs, but when online business is increasing this is impossible because the company doesn't need many people to operate online. The business needs just few people to take care of the website and the products. Businesses which operate in a phisical premises hire more staff and more people are employed within different departments.
Customers want good quality products at a cheap price , and companies on the other hand want to maximise profits, so this is why they always try to satisfy the customers' needs and requirements.