The functions of a company
Fayol's six functions and their present-day form, operational functions versus support functions, and the five verbs of the administrative function.
- 25 cards
- 6 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Questions
- Sort and link
- The steps
- Scenarios
- Understand
A few cards from the deck
Business function: what is it?
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A set of activities of the same nature, grouped to fulfil a precise mission in the company.
A function is not a department: one function may be spread over several departments, and a small department may combine several.
Which of Fayol's functions matches "keeping the accounts, drawing up the balance sheet, calculating cost prices"?
- The accounting function
- The financial function
- The administrative function
- The technical function
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The accounting function
Accounting records and measures (accounts, balance sheet, costs). Finance, by contrast, seeks and manages capital. Do not mix them up: one records, the other finds the money.
Fayol's six functions are technical, commercial, financial, …, accounting and ….
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Fayol's six functions are technical, commercial, financial, security, accounting and administrative.
Fayol wrote at the start of the 20th century. Today's functions merge or rename his: technical becomes production and research, accounting and financial form finance.
Operational function: what is it?
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A function that directly helps make the product, sell it or deliver it to the customer.
Production, sales and marketing, purchasing and logistics belong to it. Without them, the company has nothing to offer.
The five verbs of the administrative function according to Fayol: which step comes after "Plan"?
- Command
- Coordinate
- Control
- Organise
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Organise
One plans ahead, organises the resources, commands the staff, coordinates the efforts, then controls the results, which feed the next plans.