A functional organizational structure is a structure that consists of activities such as coordination, supervision and task allocation. The organizational structure determines how the organization performs or operates. The term organizational structure refers to how the people in an organization are grouped and to whom they report.
A functional organizational structure is a structure that consists of activities such as coordination, supervision and task allocation. The organizational structure determines how the organization performs or operates. The term organizational structure refers to how the people in an organization are grouped and to whom they report. One traditional way of organizing people is by function. Some common functions within an organization include production, marketing, human resources, and accounting. This organizing of specialization leads to operational efficiency, where employees become specialists within their own realm of expertise. Business functions are the external directed activity systems of an organization. They are often referred to as business processes or throughput functions. These business functions are concerned with the provision of goods and services to the external customers of the organization. They express the main purpose of the organization, why the business exists.
Example: A motorcar manufacturer could have parallel process lines for different types of cars (e.g. passenger cars, heavy duty vehicles, microbuses, sports cars, etc.). Other examples are the different degree courses and research programs at a university, the different types of projects in an engineering company, different shops in a region, different types of services of a consultant etc.
The grouping of activities according to the type of function performed is the most commonly used structure. This is the most traditional way of organizing people. You would find this not only being widely used in business organization but also in non-commercial organization such as hospitals, universities etc. Some common functions within an organization include production, marketing, human resources, information technology and finance. This organizing of specialization leads to operational efficiencies where employees become specialists within their own realm of expertise. This structure enhances the experience of each function.
Depending on the nature of the organization and its scope of activities, the functions it has to perform may differ vastly from those of another organization. For instance, one company which undertakes both manufacturing and marketing may have departments engaged in purchase, production, marketing and finance. If it is selling a product such as TV or refrigerator it may also have an after-sale-service department.
On the other hand, a company which is an ancillary to a parent company may have only departments for purchase, manufacturing and finance. Since it is selling its entire production to the mother company there is no need for a marketing department.
The provision of a good or service involves processing, namely the transformation of inputs into outputs. This occurs in phases. For example, the business of producing cars involves procurement of parts, the assembly of different parts into a car, other processing (e.g. painting), as well as marketing, selling and delivery. Likewise, a university course involves different disciplines and subjects. Each phase is a sub-activity system or sub-function with its own expertise or functional specialization. These are provided by the business support systems.
Inward-directed activity systems of an organization are known as business support functions. They are concerned with providing resources (e.g. human, material, technological, knowledge and energy) for the different specializations required by the business functions.
All functions have their own internal governance, as well as being governed by coordinating organizational governance. Coordinating governance is self-referring activity systems and includes planning, performance management and various regulatory activities. They coordinate all functions within the organization, the business, business support and organization support functions.
Self-directed activity systems of an organization are known as organization support functions. They are concerned with establishing and maintaining the organization as an entity. Each organization support function provides support to all functions, business, business support and other organization support functions.
For example, corporate finance provides budgets and accounting services to all functions (even to itself). Likewise, the IT function coordinates the flow of data within and between all functions (including its own data flow). Other organization support functions are administration, knowledge management, human resource development, organizational development, legal services and auditing, amongst others.
Another extension to this model could be creation of center of excellence (COE) centers within the organization. COE refers to a team, a shared facility or an entity that provides leadership, evangelization, best practices, research, support and/or training for a focus area. The focus area in this case might be a technology, a business concept, a skill (e.g. negotiation) or a broad area of study. A center of excellence may also be aimed at revitalizing stalled initiatives. It may also be known as a competency center or a capability center. Such a center may bring together faculty members from different disciplines and provide shared facilities.
Example - Given below is the functional structure for a Services Organization:
Service Organizations are outsourcing providers of functions that have traditionally been performed and audited within the client (user) organization. Their functional organizational structure is usually divided into :
In most companies, HR is split into Recruitment, Training & Talent management. If the scales of operation are very wide Recruitment, Training and Talent management function like different Departments and the job profiles do not overlap at all.
Operations is the most important part of the actual functioning of the company . It is the main earner of the business because it can ‘billed’ for. All other expenses go as ‘costs’ to the company. This category includes employees who actually execute the processes for the customers.
Administration is again a wide function which looks after the day to day functioning of the company starting from transport ,office maintenance, security and running the cafeteria. Some of these are often called transaction processing.
Finance is a back office function that includes a number of services including billing, account payables, general accounting etc.
Business development includes marketing and other strategic planning. Important decisions with respect to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A’s) are taken by this department in close coordination with the Finance department. Scanning the market and drawing a map for the company’s future growth depends largely on the efficiency of this Department.
The Technical Department is also a support function .Unlike in an IT Company, this Department ensures systems are in place. As there is extensive use of technology, the Technical Department has the responsible job of ensuring that all software is running smoothly.
Each of these can function as a separate company in terms of the structure. The C-level Executives have the tough job of coordination between different Departments for a smooth and effective functioning. Roles for each Department are quite clearly defined generally.
A subsidiary is a company that is completely or partly owned by another corporation that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock, and which normally acts as a holding corporation which at least partly or wholly controls the activities and policies of the daughter corporation.
Reversing Journals are special journals that are automatically reversed after a specified date. A reversing entry is a journal entry to “undo” an adjusting entry. When you create a reversing journal entry it nullifies the accounting impact of the original entry. Reversing entries make it easier to record subsequent transactions by eliminating the need for certain compound entries. See an example of reversing journal entry!
GL - Different Accounting Methods
The accounting method refers to the rules a company follows in reporting revenues and expenses. Understand the two common systems of bookkeeping, single, and double-entry accounting systems. Learners will also understand the two most common accounting methods; cash and accrual methods of accounting and the advantages and disadvantages of using them.
In this article we will discuss various types of "Management Entities". Various types of operational units, are created by management, to effectively run, manage and control their business. Different types of functional units, and divisional units, are widely used across industry.
Horizontal or Flat Organizational Structures
Flat organizational structure is an organizational model with relatively few or no levels of middle management between the executives and the frontline employees. Its goal is to have as little hierarchy as possible between management and staff level employees. In a flat organizational structure, employees have increased involvement in the decision-making process.
In this article, we will describe how to determine if an account needs adjustment entries due to the application of the matching concept. Learners will get a thorough understanding of the adjustment process and the nature of the adjustment entries. We will discuss the four types of adjustments resulting from unearned revenue, prepaid expenses, accrued expenses, and accrued revenue.
McKinsey 7S Framework is most often used as an organizational analysis tool to assess and monitor changes in the internal situation of an organization. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing.
GL - Accrued / Unbilled Revenue
Accrued revenues (also called accrued assets) are revenues already earned but not yet paid by the customer or posted to the general ledger. Understand what we mean by the terms accrued revenue, accrued assets, and unbilled revenue. Explore the business conditions that require recognition of accrued revenue in the books of accounts and some industries where this practice is prevalent.
For any company that has a large number of transactions, putting all the details in the general ledger is not feasible. Hence it needs to be supported by one or more subsidiary ledgers that provide details for accounts in the general ledger. Understand the concept of the subsidiary ledgers and control accounts.
A joint venture (JV) is a business agreement in which the parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets. A joint venture takes place when two or more parties come together to take on one project.
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