Investigating how business works Essay

Philip Markham Ltd is a family firm. It is traditional manufacturers of classic men swear and produces a wide range of exclusive shirts and ties. It also sells a more limited range of trousers, jackets, overcoats and sweaters. Only shirts and ties are manufactured in the factory in Marlington. Other items are obtained by placing orders with specialist manufacturers. Philip Markham aims to manufacture and sell high quality men’s clothing at fair, competitive prices and to all its customers. Objectives are to use high quality fabric for the shirts and customers can select which style of sleeve of collar they prefer, which type of sleeve fastening and even the length of the sleeve. The four functional areas I will be looking at are: – Resources and IT Finance Production Human Resources Resources and IT The company operates from a large factory, which was purchased by Philip Markham in the 1920s. Jack’s father, the great grandson of Philip Markham refurbished it in the 1970s and the offices are quite spacious and pleasant. The company first introduced computers in the 1980s. Kim Fields was appointed in 1992 and the company now has a small-networked computer system. Computers are used for: * Recording purchases and sales * Preparing financial and management accounts * Recording payroll information and calculating salaries and wages each month * Recording orders received from mail order customers analysing these * Keeping a database of all personnel employed by the company * Preparing letters and memos * Sending e-mails between departments. At the time the IT facilities were introduced it has been planned to locate them within the finance function. Finally, however, it was decided that it should be linked to Administration, as it involved all areas of the business. Marsha Webb is currently investigating how IT could help her to monitor manufacturing levels more easily. Finance The ten staff that works in finance are very important to the success of the company’s Philip Markham. Above all they make sure that they receive the money they are owed, they pay employee bills – and you receive your salary each month. They also make sure that each department does not spend more than it has been allocated. Each department has a budget, which is monitored by its administrator and director – as well as by finance – which can give up-to-date information on the level of expenditure at any time. Finance also has the task of preparing all the accounts each year so that they comply with their legal responsibilities to the Inland Revenue. Pete Martin, however, undertakes number-crunching activities on a far more regular basis. He is their management accountant and his responsible for checking that their production levels and sales are on target. He advises all the directors about the current financial health of the company on a weekly basis. Typical job title Function and responsibilities Financial director Giving advice to senior managers on the overall financial policy of the organisation. Overseeing the company budget. In charge of all the finance function in the organisation. Financial manager Managing the finance function and staff. Advising on financial resources. Chief accountant Overseeing the preparation of the final accounts of the organisation. Management accountant Producing continuous financial information for management. Credit controller Advising on credit policies. Ensuring that money owing to company is kept within agreed levels. Chief cashier Responsible for the receipt, safe keeping, banking and accounting of all cash received. Payroll administrator Responsible for overseeing the company payroll and salary/wage section. Wages clerks Assist the payroll administrator in the production of salary and wage details. Ledger clerks Assist the chief accountant in the recording of all financial transaction. Credit control clerks Assist the credit controller in checking the credit status of new customers and existing accounts. Reminding customers of overdue payments. Production In the induction programme Philip Markham show people who visit their Production area and show them all the different operations that are carried out. The layout of the area has been designed to maximise the flow of materials when they are producing shirts, from cutting to finishing. After shirt material has been cut it is clipped with either a blue ticket – for standard shirts – or a red ticket, for customised shirts. Blue ticket items are passed to the machinists who carry out all the main sewing operations. Red ticket items go to a different group of machinists who also carry out the alterations required. The finishers are responsible for adding all the finishing touches – from the buttons to the label – and they will also carry out any special finishing instructions noted on red ticketed items. Quality control is very importance at Philip Markham and each team – cutters, machinists and finishers – is responsible for ensuring that quality is right at every stage of the process. Then the shirts and ties pass to the packing department, which is part of despatch. Shirts used to have to be folded by hand. But now this has been partially mechanised and is much quicker. The shirts are boxed and labelled – it is at this stage that the goods have to be linked to the correct paper work and the dispatchers ensure that each box includes the correct delivery note and advise note for the haulier. Philip Markham subcontracts the delivery of its goods. This works out cheaper than keeping a fleet of vehicles and maintaining them. Also parts of Production are the purchasing staff and the designers. Purchasing is responsible for obtaining the best quality fabrics at the best prices and making sure all of their raw materials are delivered on time. How much to stock, what to stock and for how long are critical decisions. They only have limited storage place and keeping too much cloth in stock is expensive – so they need to maintain good relationships with reliable suppliers. Their designers are also part of the production team. They have a keen eye on fashion and aim to produce new designs each year. This also means choosing new fabrics and new designs, which will appeal to Philip Markham customers. The design team is busy all year and works at least six months ahead – so that the new ranges can be include in their catalogues which are produced each January (for spring and summer wear) and July (for autumn and winter). Design links very closely with Sales and Marketing as we try to incorporate customer feedback and suggestions into their new designs. Typical job title Job role Production director Responsible for the entire production function and its operations. Operations or Works manager Responsible for the production of all goods as scheduled and to the quality required. Purchasing manager Responsible for the acquisition of raw materials. Chief engineer Responsible for all maintenance staff and for scheduling equipment maintenance and recommending modifications. Chief designer Responsible for the design team and the design of the finished products Production planners Plan all production to maximise machine use and staffing, taking account of customer requirements. Production controllers Check production is going to schedule. Quality controllers Check quality is to the required standard. Buyers/order clerks Buy the raw materials required for production. Stores staff Store and monitor stocks of all raw materials and components and issue these as required. Draughtsmen Responsible for the technical design of manufactured equipment. Foremen Supervise the maintenance staff and factory operatives. Despatch clerks Responsible for the despatching the finished goods. Designers Responsible for the actual design of the product. Engineers Responsible for carrying out equipment maintenance. Factory operatives Undertake the production and assembly of manufactured items by machine or by hand. Human Resources Philip Markham would not be successful if it did not have the commitment of its entire staff. In Human resources they focus on the needs of all the staff and try to do all they can to help to recruit the best people they can – and look after them whilst they work there. These are the most important functions of this department. Their legal experts are Mark butler (for employment law) and Kate Parks (for health and safety). The company operates an equal opportunities policy and aims to treat all its employees fairly and equally in all aspects relating to their employment. Administration at Philip Markham is carried within each department, but in HR/admin they coordinate central services, such as the switchboard, reception, mail room, security, cleaning and building maintenance and last – but by no means least – the staff canteen. Janet Gregory and her team run this. Janet is always keen to receive suggestions from staff and feedback on different types of snacks and meals they would like to see on the menu. IT services is also part of their function. Kim is IT services Manager and Graham, her assistance, helps by developing their range of IT applications – when he is not supporting users, answering queries, solving problems and trouble-shooting in general! Philip Markham sees IT as a developing and rapidly growing area because of the benefits it can bring to the company as a whole and staff operations in particular. If you will be a computer user at Philip Markham your staff training on IT will be organised by Graham and if you have any problems with your computer, the number to call is 4080. The larger the organisation is, the more likely to have a several staff working in the Human Resources. For example: – Human resources director who is a senior manager in the organisation and this is more likely to be found at a large manufacturing organisation which employs thousands of workers. A medium company will have human resource manager who overseas a much smaller number of staff. Human resources function is to deal with the employee who works for the company. Wise organisation regard staff as the most important resource. The reason why I think human resources make their employees an important figure in their company is because their employees are well trained, keen to do their best and committed to the aims of the business. Supposed employees of one organisation are not motivated at their work then all the money and best equipment in the world wouldn’t make that organisation successful. The A-Z of Human Resource services – A flavour of what we do A. For application forms, absences and appraisals B. Covers benefits and bonuses C. Concerns contracts of employment, conditions of service, counselling services D. To discuss your development, your rights under discrimination or disability legislation E. All areas relating to your employment, earning, equal opportunities, eye sight tests and exit interviews F. To talk to us about fairness at work G. If you’ve grievance, perhaps H. For holiday entitlement, hours and health I. For illness, interviews and industrial relations J. For job descriptions and job share opportunities K. If you want to improve your knowledge and know how L. For leave of absence, if you need it M. For maternity, medical examinations and mentors N. For notice periods and National Insurance information O. To check on overtime and off-the-job or on-the-job training opportunities P. Perhaps for pay, pensions, probationary periods or paternity leave Q. For qualifications and queries R. For references, recruitment, retirement, resignations and your rights in general S. Search us out for information on salaries, sickness pay, self-certification T. For tax, training, trade union membership, time off U. For understanding your rights, for knowing what is and is not unfair V. For victimisation and vocational training W. For welfare and wages, works council and working conditions X. For extra special attention when you need it Y. For you – a person we like to see Z. For zappy – the way we operate – and zilch – because nothing is too much trouble! Typical job title Function and responsibilities Human resources director Deciding the overall staffing policies of the organisation. Advising senior management. Setting the HR budget. In charge of all the HR functions in the organisation. Human resources manager Managing the HR department and staff, involved with industrial relations and trade union negotiations, implementing the organisation’s HR policies. Recruitment officer Responsible for the recruitment and selection of staff. Training/staff development officer Responsible for training and staff development. Personnel/staffing officer Keeping staff records, monitoring staff welfare. Health and safety officer Overseeing all health and safety matters, accident monitoring and prevention. Security officer General security, responsible for all security staff. HR administrative assistants Administrative work relating to the human resources function. Orpington College Comparing to Philip Markham LTD Management Structure ——— Organisation Chart Academic year 2002/2003 Why have an organisation Structure? * Employees know what job to do. * Who they are responsible for. * What the responsibilities are. * To whom they are responsible. * How the employee links with other members of staff. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ organisation structure, as long as it helps people to work efficiently, communicate easily and assists the business to achieve its aims and objectives. Orpington College is a flat structure organisation and Flat structure does not have many layers, which means information is sent quickly; with less complication or misunderstanding; therefore it produces the correct result. Having a Flat structure communication is easier {clear information, understanding} between each layer, therefore when decisions are made, they will be specific to advice/order instructions. It has 13 managers in the College, Chief executive, 3 levels management, span of control between 2 and 4 and 4 top level of management in (guidance &marketing manager – assistance principle, staff & Resources and Clerk to the corporation – assistance principle, finance and information systems – assistance principle, curriculum & Students) Philip Markham is Hierarchical structure is based on distinct chain of commands from Managing director to sales director (according to Philip Markham). Decisions are made at the top and pass down. This kind of organisational is usually based on clearly defined procedures and roles. It has 10 managers in the company, no chief executive, managing director, 5 levels management, span of control between 2 and 4 and 4 top level of management in (financial director – production director – HRM/administration director and marketing and sales director.) Communications at Philip Markham Internal communications Every Monday mourning there is a meeting between Jack Markham and his directors. Minutes of this meeting are produced by Maria Forbes and sent to all staff. Each director holds a weekly team briefing with his/her staff to update them on the latest developments in the organisation. These are unofficial, relatively short affairs, just to keep people informed. There are weekly meetings each Wednesday mourning between Production and Sales/Marketing about sales and production targets. Any problems in production that are affecting orders are also discussed. Internal communications are mainly by memo, e-mail and telephone. All senior staff has pagers as well as those who are regularly away from their desk or may need to be called urgently, e.g. the health, safety and security officer, the manufacturing manager and the buildings supervisor. There is a notice board in Human Resources which contains information on staff events as well as details of job vacancies which are always advertised internally as well as externally. All staff has an annual appraisal interview with their own line manager but regular discussions are also held on individual staff performances and opportunities for staff training and development. External communications External communications are mostly by letter, telephone and fax. Senior sales staffs visit important potential business customers. Existing business customers are contacted by telephone at least once a month as well as being sent promotional material. Private customers are sent routine mailshots by sales and marketing as well as new mail order catalogues, as these are produce. In an organisation with dozens of employees, it is important that each member of staff knows exactly what to do, and how this links up with work carried out by other members of staff. People are therefore grouped into functional areas which relate to their job, so that people doing similar jobs work in the same area. These areas are then linked in an overall structure. In a large organisation we are likely to find more functional areas than in a small or medium-sized one. In this case we may find that there are only a few departments performing a variety of functions. Within a functional. The advantages of Ict upon communication internal and external communication at Cadbury are: * Fast (compared to other methods such as writing a letter) * Can be more accurate (easier to correct errors) * Allows people to use the information quickly and efficient * Can get access to a wide range of information easily * Easy and cheap to store information * Can access information where ever you are in the world (and can communicate with people where ever they are) * Often cheap to access * Quality of information can be better Disadvantages: * Messages can be misunderstood * Can take time to clarify misunderstanding * Chance that messages can be sent to the wrong people * People can be unfamiliar with the system * Employees may need training (costly) * Employees may feel de-motivated/ stressed by new technology * Messages can be held up due to technical problems * Lack of visual communication can hinder the quality of communication * Employees can suffer from information over load Ways to avoid some of these disadvantages are by * Training staff * Use face-to-face communication (maybe through the performance management system) * Make sure employees feel they can get to see their manager * Have technical support * Help employees, by satisfying their social needs e.g. through social club * Make sure employees are only given training that will be useful. Equal Opportunities Legislation and Other Employment Law Equal opportunities has been a legal requirement since the 1970s at Philip Markham yet a large engineering firm recently paid a substantial amount out of court because other female personnel manager was paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 less than a male colleague doing exactly the same job. This situation is under a Sex Discrimination Act 1975 where this act makes it illegal for anyone to be discriminated against on grounds of gender (or gender reassignment) – either directly or indirectly. In a record settlement just before an ET hearing in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in April 2000, Mark Hedley agreed an estimated à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300,000 compensation from his ex-employers, the cut-price grocery chain ALDI. This is the highest sum awarded to date under Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and it is understood ALDI settled to avoid damaging publicity. Mark Hedley had been prevented from returning to his à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½34,000 store manager job after being diagnosed HIV positive – even though he was fit for work. A report from the Trades Union Congress argues that people of African, Afro-Caribbean and Asian ethnicity don’t get their fair share of promotions at work despite having better qualifications. According to the race issues policy officer at the TUC, black people are less likely to be turned down for a job as ‘held back’ from promotion. People already in work – bring most cases to tribunals not just for being turned down for promotion but also for conditions of work, lack of training and racial abuse. This situation is under The Race Relation Act 1976. This act makes it unlawful for anyone to be discriminated against on grounds of colour, race, nationality or ethnic origin. An increasing number of lawyers are offering a no-win, no-fee service to employees who think they have been unfairly dismissed (The Employment Rights Act 1996). This helps those who don’t belong to a union to obtain free advice. This, plus the fact that the maximum compensation limit an employee can expect from a tribunal has increased to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½56,000, appears to be the reason for the huge rise in cases. Between July 1998 and 1999 ACAS recorded 136, 000 notifications of industrial tribunals – a 30% increase on the previous year. Since 1986, harassment has been classed as an act of discrimination. It is not only the employee who harasses who is guilty but also the employer if nothing has been done to take ‘reasonable steps’ to stop it. Firms must make it clear that harassment amounts to gross misconduct. The Equal Opportunities Commission received 700 complaints about harassment in 1999. Some cases are settled out of court – Dee Mazurkiewica, a former police detective, won a reported à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½300,000 from Thames Valley police. This was a serious case but smaller settlements – from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 – can result from acts of ‘belittling’ – such as making inappropriate or sexist comments or behaving in away that another person finds sexually threatening or insulting.