The Roles & Responsibilities of Employees (Edexcel IGCSE Business)

Roles & Responsibilities

• The organisational structure of a business determines the roles, responsibilities and relationships between individuals in an organisation 

Diagram: Business Roles

Larger firms are usually arranged into functional departments such as finance and marketing, which are led by directors who carry the final responsibility for the work of everyone in the department 

The role of Directors

• Larger businesses often have a board of directors who make key strategic business decisions such as

  • Implementing new corporate policies

  • Investment of retained profit and share capital

  • Growth objectives
    

• The board normally consists of a senior employee from each department, officers (such as treasurer or secretary) and the owner or chief executive officer (CEO) of a business
  

The role of Managers

• Managers have many responsibilities in the business and help it to operate effectively on a day-to-day basis

• Types of managers include senior and functional managers, line managers and supervisors
    

Roles & Responsibilities of Managers

The role of Operational & Support Staff

• Operational staff complete tasks to which they are directed by their manager(s)

  • E.g. In a department store operational staff include customer service representatives, sales assistants and security staff
    

• Support staff assist with the non-core operations of a business

  • E.g. In a bank support staff may include cleaners, IT technicians and human resources assistants

Delegation

• Delegation is a process where responsibility for specific tasks is given to subordinates by managers 

  • Delegation usually involves transferring authority from manager to subordinate

  • E.g. the Human Resources Director of a large company delegates authority for recruitment and training to the Recruitment and Training Manager
    
    

• Delegation is particularly important in businesses with a flat organisational structure, where managers have wide spans of control

The Advantages of Delegation

• Despite its advantages some managers are reluctant to delegate as they lose some control over decision-making

  • Managers may need support to be able to balance trust and control to delegate appropriate tasks

  • Autocratic leaders may not be willing to give authority to others

  • Some managers may feel threatened by highly skilled subordinates seeking promotion