Business Management & Administration

The Organisational Background to Business Administration

The Management Framework to Business Administration

• What are business administration and management?
• The board of directors
• Functions within an organisation
• The ‘systems’ approach to organisation
• Planning-control feedback cycles

Characteristic Features of Organisations

• The structure of organisations and the need for authority
• The features of bureaucratic and non-bureaucratic organisations
• Traditional principles and types of organisation
• More about systems and subsystems

The Structure of Business Enterprises

• The pattern of organisations
• Business types including; sole-trader enterprises, partnerships, limited partnerships, the limited liability company, non-profit-making units (clubs and societies), public enterprises
• Public sector organisations; autonomous public corporations, nationalised industries, local government institutions, central government departments

Functions within Organisations

The Production Function

• The production process and types of production
• Site selection and factory planning
• Plant and equipment
• Materials and materials handling
• Production administration
• Costing aspects of production
• Work study
• Maintenance and production
• CAD, CAM and CIM

The Purchasing Function

• The nature of purchasing and the role of the purchasing officer
• Purchasing department procedures, inventory control, stores control and economic order quantity

The Research and Development Function

• The functions of the research and development department
• Basic research
• Problem-based research
• Ideas generation
• Applied research and development
• Patents, trade marks and service marks
• Research and development in the business organisation

The Marketing Function

• Introduction to marketing and the marketing philosophy
• Market analysis and research
• Promotion, publicity and public relations
• Pricing policy
• Credit control
• Sales administration
• Transport and distribution (logistics)
• Export marketing

Personnel Department

• The need for staff
• The functions of the personnel department and a personnel policy
• Employee records
• Promotion, transfer, termination and dismissal
• Industrial relations practice
• The remuneration of staff

The Administrative Officer’s Role

Office Administration

• The role of the administrative officer
• Facilities management – the ‘new-look’ office administrator
• The office and its functions
• The clerical function, business correspondence, mail inwards, mail outwards, systems for producing business correspondence
• Meetings, conferences, functions and delegation

Other Responsibilities of the Administrative Officer

• The organisation and methods department
• Security aspects of business
• Risk management
• The environment of organisations
• What is a claimant?
• Assessing the impact of claimants